If you could rewrite the Pokemon anime...

[Bulbabrain]

@Bulbabrain - your rewritten anime sounds comfortingly similar to the actual anime itself

I guess my main difference is that it won’t just be Pikachu as th main pokemon. We’ll see past and present Pokémon extremely often. Bulbasaur and Leavanny getting along. My main focus is on taking the stuff I like about the anime, (battles, interesting subgroups of trainers, ridiculous levels of fantasy kitchen sink.) without the more annoying stuff. (Low focus on certain characters. Bad battles.)

 

[Phosphene]

Maybe it's just me, but I feel that the whole "ten-year old goes around region/world battling for shiny medals" has been done to death in the Pokémon franchise, so, instead, I'd basically rework the entire show, having it explore some of the lesser-told parts of the Pokémon world while still keeping a connection to the plot of its corresponding game. For example, the DPPt season would focus on a famous coordinator's secretary teaming up with a member of the International Police to investigate Team Galactic, rather than be another badge quest starring a ten-year-old kid with a starter. However, I'd still have the game characters show up from time to time (this would be one of the few times you'd actually see the starters), just they're more in the background, and I'd still have the main protagonists start with small parties that expand with captures just because I think the speculation of "who will they catch?" is fun.

Also, I'd have realistic sounds replace Pokémon saying their name.

 

[Bulbabrain]

Aww, I like the name based onomatopoeia.
Interpol does need more love though.

Something I want to add to my Pokémon anime idea is the fact that while characters will battle often, they’ll be Pokémon that choose not to battle, or only in specific scenarios. I might introduce Chloe earlier on, just to have a more interesting foil in the earlier series.

 

[Galactic_V]

I think I've said it here before somewhere, but I'd make the Pokemon League just as in the game. After beating all Gym Leaders, Satoshi'd receive an invitation to challenge the Elite 4 in a mini-arc (each of them would be stationed in different places so there'd be time for training and strategy discussions inbetween). Defeating them all, then, he'd go on to battle Wataru in a 6 vs 6 match.
More or less of what happened in the Orange League but with traditional battles instead of tasks.

And after the Kanto region is done, Satoshi'd get replaced for the Gold and Silver player character (most likely Kenta) for Jouto.

 

[nickdt]

Lets do the Orange

Ash, Misty and Brock get sent on an assigment to deliver the GS ball to Professor Ivy. However, Brock doesn't stay behind this time. Ash has decided to leave Butterfree, Pidgeot, Cubone, Tauros and Venusaur at the lab, alongside Hitmonlee, since it turned out Hitmonlee isn't much of a battler. He keeps Wartortle, Charmeleon and Electabuzz on him. Brock lets Kangaskhan stay at home so she can take care of his siblings while he is away. Upon arrival at Valencia Island, the trio delives the GS ball to Ivy. Ivy tells Ash about the Orange Island League. Ash is stoked to participate and does so. The trio leaves for Tangelo island. A Pokemon Watcher comes into the Pokemon center where the trio is staying. Not being much of a trainer himself, he explains to nurse Joy what is happening with bullies and a Lapras, which outrages the trio and they go with the boy. The boy introduces himself als Tracey Sketchit. When they arrive at the place where Lapras is being bullied, the Pokemon breeder portion of Brock comes out. He challenges them all to a battle and destroys them with a powerful Rock Slide from Graveler. The trio debate what to do with Lapras. Tracey explains there was a storm and that this Lapras needs to have been separated from its herd, especially since its the Lapras is so small. Brock asks the Lapras if it wants to come with him until they have found its herd. Lapras, having seen the kindness Brock and the others have shown him, allows Brock to capture him (Yes, i decided to let Brock capture Lapras instead of Ash, since with him being around, him caring for the injured and lost Lapras perfectly plays into him being a breeder, which is also the reason i let him catch Kangaskhan back in Kanto). When they get back in the Pokemon Center, they debate to go to their next location, Mikan Island, the next day. Tracey, who is also going to Mikan island, asks if he can join them there, the trio happily agrees.

The gym on Mikan Island also is just a normal battling gym (Just like all the gyms in the Orange Islands). Its a 2v2 battle. Gym Leader Cissy uses a Seadra, Ash sends out Electabuzz. Cissy, scared of the Electric type, sends out Blastoise, who knows a thing or two to deal with Electric types due to extensive training. Blastoise defeating Electabuzz leaves Ash frustrated he left Venusaur back in Pallet Town. Ash sends out his Wartortle. Cissy recalls Blastoise, who is tired from fighting the Electabuzz and sents Seadra back out. Due to beter mobility, Wartortle defeats Seadra. Now Blastoise comes back out. Wartortle and Blastoise have an extreme match-up, where Wartortle eventually comes out on top, evolving in the process (Yes, i decided to let Ash's starter evolve, because he doesn't take it with him to other regions, because Ash having a Water type starter basically limits the mons he can get in terms of starters later on). Ash winning gets him the Coral Cove badge. Tracey says goodbye to the trio, but still asks to them to keep him informed about Ash's progress in the Orange League so he can come to Pummelo Island to see Ash face off against its leader.

I will skip the filler episodes and will summarize all the events before Pummelo Island. Ash gets Snorlax, Misty gets Poliwag and Marill and Brock reiceives a Pokemon Egg (Comes into play in Johto) and Graveler evolves in Golem.

Ash vs Drake is still a 6v6.. but the Pokemon particpating are different.
Butterfree is Ash's first Pokemon to be send out. It matches up against Drakes Ditto, a strange Pokemon to use. Ditto uses Transform and turns into the Ditto. After a hard fought battle, Butterfree and Butterfree (Ditto) both go down, but one Butterfree goes up. Its revealed Ash's Butterfree has won, since the other Butterfree transforms back into Ditto after losing.

After losing his Ditto, Drake decides to send out Onix against Butterfree, because of its type advantage. Butterfree outmaneuvers Onix in the air, but with a good place Rock Slide, Butterfree gets hit hard and goes down.

Ash sends out Venusaur to counter the Onix. A hard fought battle leaves Venusaur battered, but it stands victorious.

Drake sends out Gengar next. Ash, not knowing how to deal with the Gengar, sends out Tauros. Everyone in the stadium (Minus Brock, Misty and Tracey) laugh at Ash for sending out a Normal type against a Ghost type. Tauros cannot hit Gengar and after it gets confused by it, Ash decides to withdraw it. Ash, realizes he only has 3 fresh Pokemon left, sends Venusaur back out. Venusaur and Gengar go head to head and clash a lot, but eventually, when the smoke clears, its revealed to be draw.

Both Ash and Drake send out at the same time. For Ash, Tauros takes the field, while Drake has sent out his Venusaur. Ash, having four Pokemon against Drakes three, thinks he has the upper hand. Venusaur fires off a Solar Beam and while it hits Tauros, the Bull Pokemon easily shakes it off to defeat the Grass starter with a solid and hard hitting Take Down.

Drake sends out his Electabuzz. Ash notices how much damage Tauros has taken and switches it out for Hitmonlee, who he has chosen to fight because he was pumped to do so, despite not wanting to battle much. Electabuzz however, quickly overpowers it. After this, Ash sends out his Blastoise. Blastoise makes quick work with Electabuzz, withstanding 2 Thunder Punches.

Dragonite comes in next. Drakes strongest mon. Ash, who has specifically taught Blastoise Ice Punch for Grass types, realizes that Ice Punch is also good against Dragon types. Ice Punch clashes with Thunder Punch, which overpowers it and defeats Blastoise.

Tauros comes in next. It withstands a Thunder Punch and Body Slam, before going down to a Dragon Rage.

Now its time for Charmeleon. Charmelon and Dragonite have a heavy fight, with Dragonite initially taking the upper-hand. Charmeleon, who doesn't want to disappoint its trainer by losing, evolves into a Charizard, as a last ditch effort to give his trainer the win. Charizard and Dragonite fight an aerial battle and after Charizard gets a hold of Dragonite, smashes it into the stadium ground with a Seismic Toss. Dragonite tries to stand up, but it can't. Charizard wins and Ash gets the battle and with this team of six, gets a place in the Orange League Hall of Fame and earns Drakes respect.

After this, when going home to Vermillion city via ship, the group (Including Tracey, who wants to meet professor Oak), encounters a herd of Lapras. Brock sends out his Lapras to see if it belongs to this herd. It does. Brock and Lapras part ways, but Brock keeps hold of Lapras's Pokeball, to prevent it being caught by other trainers.

 

[GrookeyFan77]

Team Rocket would work in Pokémon School and Sakuragi Institute, in disguise.

yes pls

 

[Enzo]

Hikari would have won the Grand Festival and defeated her main rival.
Lilie's character arc wouldn't be limited to her being a trainer.
Lusamine's character and her relationship with Lilie would be closer to the games.
Whole Aether plot wouldn't be inconsistent mess from the start to the end.
Team Rocket would work in Pokémon School and Sakuragi Institute, in disguise.
Koharu wouldn't stay distant from the boys in the first fifty PJ episodes.

Now there's some flavor to this.

Especially this one

Hikari would have won the Grand Festival and defeated her main rival

Dawn got robbed so hard. I like Zoey but she should've lost. I remember I even wrote about how they bended the rules for her to win in the finals.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

I would also give a Clefairy to Satoshi, as a counterbalance to Pikachu.
Squirtle would go to Kasumi instead and would be fully evolved in her final episode.
Charmander would go to Takeshi first, but then he would trade it to Satoshi.
Elite Four wouldn't exist in the anime. Its members appear as league rivals instead.
Nanako would appear more, actually face off Satoshi in the league, and beat him.
Hikari would have won the Grand Festival and defeated her main rival.
I would sent XY team to Hoenn for an arc, so Serena can do contests there.
Lilie's character arc wouldn't be limited to her being a trainer.
Lusamine's character and her relationship with Lilie would be closer to the games.
Whole Aether plot wouldn't be inconsistent mess from the start to the end.
Team Rocket would work in Pokémon School and Sakuragi Institute, in disguise.
Koharu wouldn't stay distant from the boys in the first fifty PJ episodes.

 

[ii kanji]

Team Rocket would work in Pokémon School and Sakuragi Institute, in disguise.

Can you imagine how fun if they were Kikuna and Renji? Kojiro and Nyasu especially would make convincing lab assistants. Musashi... Well I don't know what her role would be, but it would be super fun to see them interact on the daily with the kids and be really integrated into the plot! See how they squirm out of situations when they're nearly identified, how they'd transition to being Rockets when needs be .etc.

 

[Emmy]

Some general thoughts about the series as a whole:

• Remove the whole Pokémon saying their own name thing. Or at the very least compromise by limiting it to only Pikachu and Eevee.
• Change a lot of Ash's Kanto Gym battles, also shorten the amount of seasons it took for Ash to win a League.
• Ash having Aura feels really underutilised. Even if he didn't want to become an Aura Guardian, I would have thought he would have at least trained to use it more since it would undoubtedly help in his quest to become a Pokémon Master by understanding Pokémon more.

And since we're currently on Journeys I felt the desire to say a few rewrites I would have done:

• Remove the Sakuragi institute and replace it with Magnolia's lab. Now that Magnolia and Sonia have been introduced I honestly don't see what the point in having the Sakuragi's was other than Kanto pandering.
• Change up the PWC. Rather than being an open contest to everyone and their mother, I would have inserted the whole Endorsement thing from Sw/Sh that way you limit the numbers of characters to (mainly) Gym Leaders, Champions and some other notable figures, whilst also keeping continuity by acknowledging Ash's achievements in Alola lead to his invitation. Battles would also be more diverse in the Preliminaries, having stuff like Team Battles, Rotation Battles, Survival Battles etc to shake things up a bit before we whittle the participants down to the Top 16.
• I wouldn't have bothered with Gou's catch 'em al goal. It creates far more problems than it is entertaining to watch and him being a "research fellow" was far more interesting. If he has to catch Pokémon then at least limit it to one per species (i.e one Dog, one Beetle, one Rabbit etc).

 

[DynamicFusion]

Usually people write about changing parts of the Worst Series (in this case Journeys & BW) and making it better. But I'll do the opposite and change parts of one of the Best Series (Sun & Moon) and make it even better. Here is my slight re-write of the Ending of the Alola League. It does look a bit like a fanfiction but it is a tad bit fun.

Spoiler

My slight change would lead to Two Epic (kinda) Full Battles and would also make the Anime a bit more intense (which SM wasn't) at its end. Ash would beat Gladion. At this point there is no announcement of an Exhibition Match, there is no Guzzlord attacking the Stadium and during the Trophy Ceremony (when the Trophy is being awarded to Ash). Professor Kukui would pop up in his Masked Royale disguise and question really if Ash is the best trainer in the Alola League. Here, the questions he would ask would sorta reflect some of the major doubts some people had about Ash winning in Alola (Does he deserve it? Shouldn't he have won it in Kalos? and etc). We'd have a dialogue and Masked Royale would challenge Ash to a full battle and say only if you win against me then only can you keep your trophy and truly call yourself "Alola League Champion"... this would literally be a "Champion Title Defense" Battle... Ash then wonders if he should call some reserves in Oak's Farm to get to a Full Team but instead he decides to summon a certain mon. Here if I were Sound Director Masafumi Mima, I would purposefully play the Ash-Greninja Theme (just to bait) but instead of Ash-Greninja it would be Naganadel which would return from an Ultra Wormhole and then *ad break*...

The Battle would start in the second part of SM139 and would pretty much go how it did in the actual anime but would be a three-parter instead of a four-parter and it would end halfway at SM142. But there is a twist, here Masked Royale doesn't use Tapu Koko. It is just a normal 6 VS 6 Battle with his second-to-last Pokemon being Something Else and Incineroar as his Final Mon. After Ash wins, Masked Royale smiles and kneels in front of Ash and takes off his mask and it is revealed that he is Kukui. Then when Ash is finally relaxed that he truly is Alola League Champion and tries to get his trophy but then Tapu Koko appears and then snatches it away. Then Ash & Pikachu try and chase it. *end of SM142*...

Then we would have the Ash and Pikachu follow Tapu Koko all the way to the Altar of the Sunne in Poni Island. There Tapu Koko places the trophy behind it and not only Tapu Koko but all the other Island Guardian Pokemon challenge Ash to a battle. Ash can use how much ever Pokemon he has to defeat them to earn the title of Alola League Champion for good. Here Solgaleo pops up from an Ultra Wormhole and offers itself to be used in battle for Ash. This would be a two-parter (SM143 & SM144) with Ash managing to defeat all the Island Guardians with his full team & Solgaleo (and with Pikachu taking out at the end Tapu Koko with 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt). Ash is deservedly the Champion of Alola for good.

Finally we would have SM144 & SM145 dedicated to Farewell & A Set-Up to Journeys. It would go pretty much the way it went actually.

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

I would do a lot but

1. ASH WINS THE KALOS LEAGUE AND DATES SERENA

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

How I'd rewrite Pokemon Journeys into Pokemon Sword and Shield: The Series.

Tonally, it will be more like XY. It will have this shonen-like nature, though still take breaks for slice of life stuff once in a while.

It starts out with Ash, fresh off his big win in Alola. Ash receives an invite for a special tournament in the Galar Region, so he naturally accepts. Ash, along with Delilah, Mimey, and Professor Oak decide to head to the Galar Region for a small tournament, with the winner's prize being a chance to fight Champion Leon in an exhibition match. Ash ends up winning the tournament, though he loses in his battle against Leon, where he learns about Dynamax. Leon ends up giving him his own Dynamax Band for their battle, similarly to Journeys. Team Rocket has followed Ash obviously and they take an interest in Dynamax. They want the power for themselves.

Despite losing to Leon, Ash is determined to fight the Galar Champion again someday. Upon hearing about Galar's own gyms, Ash decides he wants to compete in the Galar Gym Challenge, though he finds out he has to earn an endorsement. While trying to figure out how to earn an endorsement, Ash, his mom, and Professor Oak decide to pay Professor Magnolia a visit before leaving. Ash soon runs into Gloria, his first companion for the series when at the lab. She was selecting her starter, which ends up being Scorbunny. The two of them butt heads right off the bat. When Team Rocket attacks, Ash manages to send them blasting off again, thanks to Pikachu and Scorbunny's teamwork. It seems to inspire Gloria, despite butting heads with Ash earlier. So Team Rocket was attempting to steal some Dynamax Bands, which causes Professor Magnolia to endorse Ash.

Ash decides to pursue another journey and says goodbye to his mom and Professor Oak, though Gloria decides to tag along with him as well for her own reasons. She says she just has her own business in Motostoke, though Ash soon learns that she's competing in a soccer themed competition that combines trainer and Pokemon. She is very boastful and cocky, leading to struggles when it comes to teamwork, and if she's ever going to make it onto a professional team, she's gotta win her way through the junior division and learn to work with her Scorbunny in better sync. Soon after learning about Gloria's goal, the opening ceremony for the Gym Challenge begins, though Ash seems to butt heads with Bede, who becomes his main rival. With the season beginning, Ash sets out with Gloria.

Ash's first Galarian capture is a Sobble, though he quickly catches a Rookidee after. His first gym battle leads him to a minor league gym against Allister in some anime exclusive town. Allister is a rather timid and meek trainer who dreams of fighting in the major leagues as a Gym Leader. Ash is able to easily beat Allister, though he is shocked to learn this is only a minor league gym, and Allister isn't even the Gym Leader. He was merely asked to watch the gym while the actual leader was out. When given the chance, Allister decides to join Ash, hoping to gain more confidence and someday become a major league Gym Leader. With the trio of Ash, Gloria, and Allister now formed, they head off to Turffield for Ash's first actual gym battle against Milo.

------

Team wise, they'd go as such...

Ash: Pikachu (Gigantamax), Inteleon, Corviknight, Sirfetch'd, Eiscue, and Dragapult
Gloria: Cinderace, Boltund, and Obstagoon
Allister: Gengar, Polteagiest, Yamask, and Thwackey

Jessie: Wobbuffett, Morpeko, Frosmoth
James: Flapple and Cramorant

----

Story wise...

Ash's story obviously focuses on the Gym Challenge. His goal is to fight Leon again, which is his endgame for the series. He'll go through the gyms, following the Sword Gym Leaders, with him facing Bea and Gordie instead of Allister and Melony. Bede will be his primary rival for the series, and it will be a rather serious and challenging rivalry for Ash. At some point, Bede will have his endorsement revoked, though Ash will surprisingly help Bede get back in after learning about everything he's been through in the past, leading to their rivalry to cool off just a bit, even after a difficult loss for Ash. He'll certainly have to be at the top of his game for the Galar League, considering how much stronger trainers are and how much more competitive the league is.

Gloria's story involves her joining these soccer themed competitions that are played with both trainer and Pokemon. Pokemon can use attacks on the ball, directed by the trainer who also plays alongside them. She's learning to be more of a team player at the same time, hoping to someday get on a professional team. Over time, she'll learn to value working with others more and become a more synchronized pair with her Pokemon as they start to win matches. Her friendship with Ash will be somewhat similar to Misty, though Ash will be more responsive to her.

Allister's main goal is to gain more confidence and someday become a major league Gym Leader, with him traveling alongside Ash in hopes that he can learn from Ash, as well as overcome some stage fright. Over time, he'll slowly start to gain more confidence and become less doubtful of himself, and even improving his own skill. By the end of the series, he will manage to earn a position as a full time minor league gym leader, with the chance to get into the major leagues in the next big gym leader tournament. When it comes to the group, Allister attempts to be the voice of reason.

Team Rocket is trying to get a hold of their own Dynamax Band and unlock the power, though they find themselves involved with Looker again. Looker is looking into some Marco Cosmos activity, eventually leading up to the Darkest Day. The Darkest Day arc will occur, though it will be built up over time. Team Rocket will also be involved in Gloria's story, competing against her.

 

[Coolsteph]

Disclaimer: I stopped watching early on the Black & White era, and it's been quite some time since I watched a significant number of episodes.

I think the best episodes are those with pathos, darkness and complexity. For example: EP232 "Just Waiting on a Friend", AG157 "Time Warp Heals All Wounds", EP203 "The Screen Actor's Guilt", AG006 "A Poached Ego", and EP015 "Battle Aboard the S.S. Anne", and AG067, "Love, Petalburg Style". A lot of the Kanto episodes felt fairly intense, though the highly effective music could have been a factor.

If I could rewrite the anime...I wouldn't necessarily get rid of filler, so much as increase the emotional complexity or plot creativity for each and make characters recur more.

Consider "The Screen Actor's Guilt": it was remarkable for how much focus and development there was on Brad, despite him being only a character-of-the-day. "Just Waiting on a Friend" was unusual for being Brock-focused; as of the last time I checked, he didn't get much chance to shine.

I'd also tweak Brock's goal of becoming a "Pokemon Breeder". Perhaps he would be undecided for a while, until wanting to be a nurse/doctor.

 

[Bulbabrain]

i did like time warp heals all wounds as well. /could be interesting to see more episodes like that.

 

[KrspaceT]

I have no problem with filler....you just need to make it less.....well bad filler.

You can do interesting filler: Unova's Club tournaments were a great filler mechanic that should be done more of.

 

[GrookeyFan77]

Here is a fanmade Ash galar team:
Pikachu
Grookey->Thwackey->Rillaboom
Sobble->Drizzile->Inteleon/Scorbunny->Raboot->Cinderace (up to personal taste)
Rookidee->Corvisquire->Corviknight
G-Fetch’d->Sirfetch’d
Dreepy->Drakloak->Dragopult

 

[nickdt]

I would change a couple of things in Johto.

First off: I would introduce Silver as a rival, but this time he doesn't have a starter (His starter is Sneasel). While he steals a Totodile, Ash and co save it and it goes to travel with Ash.

The Heracross and Pinsir fight still happens, however, this time, both Heracross and a Pinsir join the main cast, since Brock will get a Pinsir (Replacing his Pineco)

After this, Ash does his first Gym Battle against Falkner, which is a 3v3. He however loses. Ash's next Johto Pokemon is in Bellsprout Tower and is a Chikorita.

Rematch vs Falkner. Ash wins.

Misty is next to get a team change, as her Poliwag evolves into Poliwhirl.

Ash catches a Mischivous Phanpy.

Brock gets Steelix.

Misty gets a Mareep.

Ash gets his second gym badge, with Totodile evolving into Croconaw against Bugsys Pinsir.

Azalea Town Arc Spans 5 episodes (Marill evolves). Ash gets Fast Ball, Brock gets a Love Ball and Misty a Lure Ball. Rival battle with Silver. Chikorita evolves against Silver, but this doesn't prevent her from losing against his Murkrow.

Ash catches Cyndaquil in Ilex Forest. Brock gets Baby Stantler (2 episodes back-to-back)

Ash vs Whitney. He loses because he didn't use his female Bayleef.

Ash training and depression arc, with him putting Snorlax on the team as a sparring partner.

Bug catching contest and Tracey return (Reveals he caught a Ponyta and Dodrio off-screen in Kanto). Tracey wins the bug catching contest and gets to keep his price (Ariados).

Ash vs Whitney rematch. Ash wins.

Brock and Golbat arc. Golbat evolves.

Ash catches his fifth Johto Pokemon, a Larvitar who was separated from his mother and they want to find it.

Pokemon Swap Meet. Ash brings back Tauros. Brock brings back Golem for tournaments. Beauty contest happens. Misty and Azumarill enter. Ash and Misty win, while Brock loses. Ash gets a Noctowl.

Burned Tower arc and flashback events via Morty. Agatha cameo.

The story continues.

 

[Jewel the Quaxly]

The anime gets a reboot with the characters from the Alternate Universe taking over. Only Verity and Sorrel are just re-replaced with Misty and Brock, and the anime goes in a slightly different direction than the anime and movies.

For instance, the rainbow wing arc is discarded, while other arcs that were discarded in the anime get revitalized like the GS ball containing Celebi(but not exactly cause that would be predictable).

Pikachu continues to get character arcs and episodes(not just battle ones thank you!) and is treated as an actual character. Also, his friendship with Ash runs into problems occasionally so there is more room for development.

Team Rocket is SM Rocket. Enough said. (Also they have a really weird relationship with Ash and Pikachu.)

AU Ash is A-Okay. Just throw in a little bit more Sinnoh and AG Ash and we're good to go. (Just don't pull a Kalos...)

Misty's relationship with her sisters is elaborated on, as well as how her self-esteem is a problem. It also gives insight into her water master goal and has more episodes with her interacting with other gym leaders and certain type users.

Brock has the same as Misty-more episodes showcasing him taking care of pokemon, in dangerous situations, helping others, and maybe even being inspiring.

The OS trio meet later than normal, perhaps a bit after Ash has Pikachu, Pidgeotto, and Butterfree. Also, the bikes are still a thing.

Ash actually meets all his original companions later than usual, the first few episodes being spent solely on him, Pikachu, Team Rocket and some of his other pokemon. This changes at DP as Dawn is the co-protagonist, so the first few episodes are more focused on her(basically like how it already was, only show her bonding with Pikachu and have him be with her longer. Imagine how weird it must've been for her to see a Pikachu get chased around by these guys that to her seem like legitimate threats).

Amourshipping is scrapped. Serena's character doesn't need that. She is good enough on her own and Amourshipping ruins that almost completely.

Post-Alola, Ash re-does the Indigo league and becomes Champion from his experience. Ash is then shown having to deal with champion duties as well as the pressure of media and workload.
(Also, #GiveIrisJustice)

Ash-Greninja is also scrapped. Alain's story starts sooner and the Flare Arc is set up from the start of XY through Alain's story(actually in the anime, I mean).

Pikachu-Raichu rivalry is scrapped. The very first one is okay because it involved development, but improve that as well by not making Surge's raichu seem sadistic(I believe it was implied that it really wasn't, but they should elaborate on that). Every other thing that happens with Raichu after that needs to go. Just give a few characters here and there with raichus with UNIQUE PERSONALITIES THANK YOU!!!

Ash's pokemon have prominent roles in the story as well(just like how Pikachu should be treated like a main character more) and the audience is able to understand the pokemon themselves in pokemon focused episodes(just no voice overs please...or subtitles, this is still directed towards little kids after all). Just note that this is only in pokemon-focused episodes, ones that surround Pikachu, as technically, Pikachu is one of the protagonists as well.

I'll elaborate in more vivid detail later, but I'll stop for now.

 

[Johtohfiller]

I'd do a lot more side story episodes.

For specific series, I'd make BW a direct followup to DP. Dawn would go to Unova with Ash (Unova has Contests in this version), Iris would initially be a rival and join up with them later, Ash doesn't lose his skills, TR don't get mangled, no annoying characterization or overemphasis on gags. The tone could be somewhat wackier than DP but nothing like the near-parody it was.

Spoiler

Isshu has Contests and my version is canon.