Pokémon Horizons General Discussion/Speculation Thread

[Kurolegacy]

Debut region aside, couldn't they at least stick with Pokémon that can be found in the Paldea region for Pokémon partners? Golduck is one thing, but as far as I know Rhydon is absent from Scarlet and Violet. Shouldn't the Pokémon Company be prioritizing Pokémon that people can actually use in the latest games?

Seems they forgot about that kind of priority with Journeys and haven’t looked back since. After all, why prioritize what’s new when you can prioritize Kanto yet again?

 

[Hidden Mew]

Zir and Conia have pretty decent designs, even if they do remind me of Team Rocket grunts more than anything else. I'm not sure if they're supposed to be antagonists in the same vein as the Team Rocket trio or just more like rivals for their group. I'm also not fond of them getting Kanto Pokemon. I like Golduck and it hasn't really had a prominent role in the anime or even been featured all that much, so I don't mind that choice. Why couldn't Zir have a Rhyperior instead of a Rhydon though? The other characters introduced last week at least didn't have only Kanto Pokemon as their partners, so there was still some bit of variety.

Gurumin being this mysterious streamer instantly made me wonder why they didn't just include Iono. I'm not a huge Iono fan, but she is also a streamer and it seemed like TPCI were expecting her to be popular given how she was revealed, so making an anime original character fit a similar kind of role is a bit strange. Honestly, it just makes me more worried about the Paldea Gym Leaders suffering the same fate as the Galar Gym Leaders. Despite the amount of Kanto Pokemon in the cast, I still have some hope that they won't ignore the new Pokemon, but I'm less confident about the new Gym Leaders and really any characters from Scarlet/Violet getting any prominent role in the series. It also doesn't help that they're still being vague about what Riko and Roy's goals are and it's increasingly likely, if not flat out confirmed, that this is another world tour series. I'd be really upset and disappointed if we don't get Gym battles even after having new leads, but it sadly wouldn't surprise me at this point.

 

[Kallyle]

Gurumin being this mysterious streamer instantly made me wonder why they didn't just include Iono. I'm not a huge Iono fan, but she is also a streamer and it seemed like TPCI were expecting her to be popular given how she was revealed, so making an anime original character fit a similar kind of role is a bit strange.

Gurumin could be rival streamers with Iono for all we know. Maybe the latter being more popular in-universe can be a running gag like the whole Harley vs May thing in the Hoenn series.

Honestly, it just makes me more worried about the Paldea Gym Leaders suffering the same fate as the Galar Gym Leaders. Despite the amount of Kanto Pokemon in the cast, I still have some hope that they won't ignore the new Pokemon, but I'm less confident about the new Gym Leaders and really any characters from Scarlet/Violet getting any prominent role in the series.

Ignoring the newest games twice in a row makes me wonder if the Anime staff are on shaky terms with the game developers at this point and this is their way of quietly protesting. Given how much flack OLM presumably got from TPC in this regard, just doing the same things again with a brand new cast can’t be doing themselves any favors with their relationship with the higher-ups.

 

[Mr.Snack]

I find it absurd we have seen exactly 0 game characters. Does the anime producers really think their anime will be so great that it can live of only original characters? Haven´t they learned their lesson with Journeys? That series still had Ash and TR to bring the old fans. This one doesn´t. If it doesn´t have game characters to attract the game audience, do they really sthink they will attract them with original characters?

As usual I don´t understand these business decicions. They are hurting themselves. Add to that the ridiculous fact that we still have no idea what this new series will even be about.

I know I sound harsh and hateful, but Tomyasu should be fired. I don´t see a reason to keep him around, especially as they appearently want to start fresh. Perhaps this is the famous Japan nepotism at full force, who knows.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Gurumin could be rival streamers with Iono for all we know. Maybe the latter being more popular in-universe can be a running gag like the whole Harley vs May thing in the Hoenn series.

That could be an interesting possibility. I could see them having that as a setup for an episode at least, but given that we haven't seen any sign of the video game characters thus far, I'm not sure how likely that is either.

Ignoring the newest games twice in a row makes me wonder if the Anime staff are on shaky terms with the game developers at this point and this is their way of quietly protesting. Given how much flack OLM presumably got from TPC in this regard, just doing the same things again with a brand new cast can’t be doing themselves any favors with their relationship with the higher-ups.

I haven't heard about any flack OLM got from TPC about that, but largely ignoring the newest generation again would be rather annoying and frustrating to say the least. I still have some hope for them to at least feature more Paldea Pokemon since the starters have been prominent in the promotional material from the start, but they may not really do much with Paldea itself. Granted, having another world tour format in general would make me have less hope for them to feature the newest region and characters in general too. I still don't really see the appeal of having Riko and Roy travel around the world. As much as I didn't end up liking how it was handled in Journeys, at least it made sense with Goh's goal and getting a chance to see old locations/characters for Ash was a big selling point for fans too. Having brand new characters starting out on their journey travel around the world doesn't quite have the same kind of appeal.

 

[Mr.Snack]

I still remember when, in another online platform, the new series was announced I said I believed it would follow the world tour format and that Paldea would be like Galar, only for people to laugh at me. Good times!

 

[Brisk Sunrise]

Does the anime producers really think their anime will be so great that it can live of only original characters?

If the anime is actually good? Yes. The anime can be good and garner interest even if it doesn't largely feature stuff from the games. There's no actual reason why it should simply be tied down and only deal with the games when it can explore a variety of other things and still potentially be good. The anime can live by the very fact that it is Pokemon alone.

 

[Eclipsical]

I think it is very clear that the anime wants to do its own thing from now on. It doesn't want to be beholden to the games. They'll pick and choose what game-related characters, locations, and plot aspects they want to adapt while ignoring the rest. I would expect anime-original characters to be the main focus from now on, Journeys was just the beginning with Goh and Koharu. They clearly like the world-tour setting because it gives them all the flexibility to do whatever ideas they want to do.

 

[Mr.Snack]

If the anime is actually good? Yes. The anime can be good and garner interest even if it doesn't largely feature stuff from the games. There's no actual reason why it should simply be tied down and only deal with the games when it can explore a variety of other things and still potentially be good. The anime can live by the very fact that it is Pokemon alone.

I disagree, but we can just wait and see.

I think it is very clear that the anime wants to do its own thing from now on. It doesn't want to be beholden to the games. They'll pick and choose what game-related characters, locations, and plot aspects they want to adapt while ignoring the rest. I would expect anime-original characters to be the main focus from now on, Journeys was just the beginning with Goh and Koharu. They clearly like the world-tour setting because it gives them all the flexibility to do whatever ideas they want to do.

The fans, especially in Japan, didn´t generally like the format, so why continue? I can like lots of things, but if my audience doesn´t, why do I insist on keeping them? Just hubris from Tomyasu/producers/whoever that think they can do whatever they want because they have the Pokemon brand backing them.

In another topic, when I was searching online for news, I thought the streamer girl (boy?) was the new Meowth, but instead of a Pokemon pretending to be human, she was a human pretending to be a Pokemon and I though it was very nice. Unfortunetly I was disappointed.

 

[Mr. MoonStone]

I think it’s clear that the new anime wants to be an independent thing from the games and previous anime. Not that the three can’t be connected, but I’d imagine the lack of game characters in this series so far is a conscientious decision made on OLM’s part. As much as I’d love to see a Paldea anime (especially after the horrible way Galar was treated in Journeys), it seems like this is really going to be its own thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if the series only focuses on anime-only locations as well, similar to the movies.

I’ll keep an open mind but I hope there’s a pay-off for all of these changes! Fingers crossed we get that a character-driven series that has an overarching storyline and not something messy.

 

[Kallyle]

I still don't really see the appeal of having Riko and Roy travel around the world. As much as I didn't end up liking how it was handled in Journeys, at least it made sense with Goh's goal and getting a chance to see old locations/characters for Ash was a big selling point for fans too. Having brand new characters starting out on their journey travel around the world doesn't quite have the same kind of appeal.

I share that skepticism. What’s the point in ending Journeys and getting a brand new cast if you’re just going to end up doing the same world tour format without any concrete reason behind it? It’s almost like Anime staff just wanted to start over for the sake of starting over and they really have no idea what they want to do with the Anime going forward.

I think it is very clear that the anime wants to do its own thing from now on. It doesn't want to be beholden to the games. They'll pick and choose what game-related characters, locations, and plot aspects they want to adapt while ignoring the rest. I would expect anime-original characters to be the main focus from now on, Journeys was just the beginning with Goh and Koharu. They clearly like the world-tour setting because it gives them all the flexibility to do whatever ideas they want to do.

If they have an idea about what they want to do, then I’m fine with it. However, their previous writing and the lack of a concrete goal for Friede’s crew (and by extension their rival group) doesn’t inspire much confidence. It really seems like they’re just winging it, which doesn’t really seem like a good gamble to bet on after finally retiring the previous protagonist.

If the anime is actually good? Yes. The anime can be good and garner interest even if it doesn't largely feature stuff from the games. There's no actual reason why it should simply be tied down and only deal with the games when it can explore a variety of other things and still potentially be good. The anime can live by the very fact that it is Pokemon alone.

I really hope this ends up being the case. That’s kind why I’m hoping this series goes for an Uncharted or Lara Croft sort of feel where the characters are studying lost civilizations in order to find which of them is tied to some sort of specific treasure. It would also give a good excuse to revisit things like Pokémopolis and Pokélantis, as well as maybe actually diving more into the Anime’s version of Hisui. Heck, maybe we’d even get to explore the ruins present in Galar’s Wild Area that never got explored in the games proper, which could mean that the Anime could actually make up for the lack of Galar-related content in Journeys. Perhaps the Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra would get expanded as well if we get lucky enough.

I just want the writers to know what they’re doing with this instead of making everything standalone and seemingly random for no reason. It didn’t help Journeys, and a repeat of that philosophy won’t help this series in which they don’t even have nostalgia to fall back on for the most part.

 

[Emelie]

I wonder if we will eventually get an anime for Scarlet and Violet that focuses only on animating the game events. I wouldn't mind a shorter 20 episode anime that did only that. I would have loved to find out more about Sada and Turo, an anime would have been perfect for developing the game characters further.

Back on topic, the cast seems to be growing larger and larger. I worry that they will have too many characters. We still don't know anything about Liko's goal either so maybe she will be like May and Serena and have an arc in the beginning when she is trying to find out what she wants to do. I pray that she won't be a repeat of Chole but at this point it seems like a possibility.

 

[Mr.Snack]

I share that skepticism. What’s the point in ending Journeys and getting a brand new cast if you’re just going to end up doing the same world tour format without any concrete reason behind it? It’s almost like Anime staff just wanted to start over for the sake of starting over and they really have no idea what they want to do with the Anime going forward.


If they have an idea about what they want to do, then I’m fine with it. However, their previous writing and the lack of a concrete goal for Friede’s crew (and by extension their rival group) doesn’t inspire much confidence. It really seems like they’re just winging it, which doesn’t really seem like a good gamble to bet on after finally retiring the previous protagonist.



I really hope this ends up being the case. That’s kind why I’m hoping this series goes for an Uncharted or Lara Croft sort of feel where the characters are studying lost civilizations in order to find which of them is tied to some sort of specific treasure. It would also give a good excuse to revisit things like Pokémopolis and Pokélantis, as well as maybe actually diving more into the Anime’s version of Hisui. Heck, maybe we’d even get to explore the ruins present in Galar’s Wild Area that never got explored in the games proper, which could mean that the Anime could actually make up for the lack of Galar-related content in Journeys. Perhaps the Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra would get expanded as well if we get lucky enough.

I just want the writers to know what they’re doing with this instead of making everything standalone and seemingly random for no reason. It didn’t help Journeys, and a repeat of that philosophy won’t help this series in which they don’t even have nostalgia to fall back on for the most part.

100% agree with everything you said in this post.

 

[Mr.Snack]

Sorry for the double post, but I don´t really know how to merge and there is one more thing I would like to get of my chest.

Rica was absolutely humiliated. She basically gave an interview were she was asked about her age in relation to her career and she awnserd that she still felt capable of continuing. Then, a short amount of time late,r we get the announcement that her iconic character (and honestly the only one she is known for except maybe Bakura from Yu-Gi-Oh) is geting retired. I have no doubt that, by the time of that interview, she already knew Ash was leaving, but was still «forced» to put a metaphorical clown nose. I know there are lots of rumours about Rica not being an easy person to work with, but this was still pretty insulting and an humiliation, especially in a place like Japan.

Continuing this trend, Yuyama also dressed as a clown. The man literally gave an interview where he all but admitted they hadn´t planned for Ash´s exit and that they just improvised.

Add to this the fact that after months of speculation about why the anime production was so behind schedule, it turns out the answer was that they were preparing a new series at the expense of the 25 year old one.

This was a complete circus.

 

[Daren]

I still strongly suspect that eventually we'll get a followup on Ash, whether it's a movie or a special or something else.

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

And this brings be to my next point. This series is shaping up to be like any other Ash series, except without battles. Yes people, you can keep coping, but you battle fans that loved to complain about Ash are in for a rude wake up call. We will defenitly see some battles here and there, but it won´t be the goal of any character.

That's prejudice on your part. We've seen Riko battling in the trailer, pokémon battles are referenced in the manga adaptation, Riko's amulet is linked to terastal energy which is about pokémon battles, Roy wants to challenge a legendary, etc.

Shouldn't the Pokémon Company be prioritizing Pokémon that people can actually use in the latest games?

I doubt Pokémon Company does have any interest in some villain's pokémon.

 

[Articfoxgamez]

I wonder if we will eventually get an anime for Scarlet and Violet that focuses only on animating the game events. I wouldn't mind a shorter 20 episode anime that did only that. I would have loved to find out more about Sada and Turo, an anime would have been perfect for developing the game characters further.

I could easily see another twilight wings like thing but Paldea.
Also I'm not that concerned about the lack of Game Characters so far because like, besides ash's two travel companions game characters were... never really constant characters? And all the characters they have shown off so far are, why would the game characters be running an airship or be apart of... whatever this "Evil" group is.

 

[Mr.Snack]

That's prejudice on your part. We've seen Riko battling in the trailer, pokémon battles are referenced in the manga adaptation, Riko's amulet is linked to terastal energy which is about pokémon battles, Roy wants to challenge a legendary, etc.

I doubt Pokémon Company does have any interest in some villain's pokémon.

Lot´s of Ash´s companions had battles against TR and they didn´t have battle oriented goals. It´s pretty obvious from the trailer that she is battling the Ceruledge guy. Will we see battles between Riko and the explorers? Certainly! Will battles be her (or Roy´s) goal? Doubtfull.

As I said earlier, I don´t care about battles as I prefer adventure and «fillers», but I know lots of people who do and that have been bashing girl companions like Koharu for not battling and for Ash to battle so «little» that are now suddenly okay with Riko not battling. Their agendas are obvious.

And please refrain from calling someone prejudiced, because that has nothing to do with what I´m discussing.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I think it is very clear that the anime wants to do its own thing from now on. It doesn't want to be beholden to the games. They'll pick and choose what game-related characters, locations, and plot aspects they want to adapt while ignoring the rest. I would expect anime-original characters to be the main focus from now on, Journeys was just the beginning with Goh and Koharu. They clearly like the world-tour setting because it gives them all the flexibility to do whatever ideas they want to do.

I don't know how much flexibility comes with the world tour setting, at least based on how it was handled in Journeys. The most positive thing about it was that it made it easier for them to feature most of Ash's previous companions and other trainers from various games without having to create reasons for them to appear in Galar. But we wouldn't have anything like that for brand new characters. Plus, after they spent a good chuck of the series in Kanto and most adventures in other regions were only for an episode or two, I'm not really confident about them being more effective with the world tour format with new characters. It certainly isn't impossible for them to handle it better, but at the moment, I don't have a lot of confidence about that.

Honestly, I never thought that the anime was beholden to the games before. They still were focused on promoting a specific generation and set in a specific regions, but that never prevented the anime from doing its own thing. They could still adapt events from the games pretty loosely and still had their own storylines going on. It doesn't have to be one or the other, so that's probably one reason why the notion of the anime being more separated from the games kind of annoys me. It feels a bit unnecessary to me when the anime has always felt like it's been doing its own thing even when adapting the current generations, especially when it's never been concerned with being a faithful adaptation too. The possibility of them ignoring a lot of the new Pokemon and characters in favor of showcasing older Pokemon just like they did with Sword/Shield in Journeys doesn't help matters either.

I could easily see another twilight wings like thing but Paldea.
Also I'm not that concerned about the lack of Game Characters so far because like, besides ash's two travel companions game characters were... never really constant characters? And all the characters they have shown off so far are, why would the game characters be running an airship or be apart of... whatever this "Evil" group is.

The issue isn't exactly that we don't have game related characters in the cast. It would be hard to make most of them part of a world tour series. It's just that my first thought when they introduced an anime original streamer here was "They're totally going to ignore the Paldea Gym Leaders like they did with the Galar Gym Leaders, aren't they?" It might be me just being paranoid, but it still kind of left me feeling like they aren't going feature new characters from the games.

 

[Kurolegacy]

I still strongly suspect that eventually we'll get a followup on Ash, whether it's a movie or a special or something else.

Wouldn’t doubt it. Depending on how the current epilogue ends, they always have Ash to fall back on for older fans, possibly even pulling an Alain and crossing over with the new anime. Heck, it’d be pretty nice if they pulled a Pokémon Special and had Liko and Roy’s adventures cross paths with Ash and his friends, possibly even coming together for a big conflict.