Let’s face it, Pokémon has never been a great anime; its messy premise has always better served the mechanics of a video game than the plot of a cartoon. But regardless of format, it’s the sense of almost mundane exploration in a big wide Pokémon world that makes the franchise memorable. While the heroes of “Dragonball Z” and “Gundam Wing” were tasked with saving humanity, Pokémon’s cartoon protagonist Ash Ketchum was often barely competent, just trying to make any sort of mark as he explored the wilderness.
Ash didn’t even advance to the finals in the Indigo League Championships that wrapped up the show’s first story arc.