Pokémon Horizons: The Series – Episodes 1-6 Review

NOTES: UK publisher – BBC. Format – Streaming (BBC iPlayer) and Television (CBBC). Languages – English dub audio, and English subtitles.

Watching this series feels weird for several reasons. First of all, this is being made available on the BBC. While they have been releasing old episodes of Pokémon for some time now, this is the first brand-new anime series that they have released in about 20 years. Secondly, this is the first Pokémon series without Ash Ketchum as the lead. Don’t worry, we still have Pikachu – albeit a different one to the one we are used to, but we all know there was no way there wasn’t going to be a Pikachu somewhere in this.

In Pokémon Horizons, the main protagonist is a girl called Liko. Originally from the Paldea region (the setting of the most recent generation of Pokémon games, based on Spain), she has moved to Kanto in order to become a student at the Indigo Academy. All the students are given a Pokémon to care for, and she is given the grass cat Sprigatito. At first the two don’t get along, but eventually they become close.

One night, a mysterious stranger named Amethio gives her a letter he claims to be from Liko’s grandmother, and also tells her to bring a pendant that her grandmother gave her. Liko doesn’t trust Amethio, so she and Sprigatito try to make a run for it. Amethio and his lackeys, Zirc and Onia, try to stop her, but Liko is saved by yet another stranger: a man named Friede who comes in on the back of a Charizard. Friede and Amethio duel as Liko and Sprigatitio flee, but when Amethio’s Ceruledge unleashes an attack that misses Charizard, it looks like it will hit Liko. However, the pendant shines a bright light that forms a barrier protecting her.

Eventually, Friede proves too strong, and he takes Liko and Sprigatito with him to safety. This safe place turns out to be a gigantic airship, the Brave Olivine. Friede is one of a group of adventurers called the Rising Volt Tacklers, the others being Captain Pikachu who rides on the ship’s bridge, Orla the machinist, Murdock the chef, Mollie the medic, and Ludlow the fisherman (and Drampa lookalike). Amethio, who comes from a villainous organisation known only as the Explorers, continues to give chase, despite the ship flying into a storm. After another battle, Sprigatitio is blown of ship and taken captive by Amethio. This leads to a daring and successful rescue mission to get Sprigatito back. Following this, Liko decides to stay with the Rising Volt Tacklers, taking her school lessons online.

However, the storm and resulting battles have damaged the airship, resulting in the crew stopping on an island in Kanto to repair. A few objects are recovered by a local boy named Roy, who owns a mysterious Pokéball he cannot open. It is not long before he gets caught up in the adventures too, especially after meeting one of the other Pokémon on the Brave Olivine, a Fuecoco who likes to sing.

It appears the BBC is releasing the series in several chunks rather than all-at-once, as is evidenced by the fact that only the first six episodes are currently available, while over 30 episodes have been broadcast in Japan (the BBC website lists the series as 45 episodes long). Watching this new series without any of the original characters is indeed an odd experience, partly because of the new voice actors involved. It took a little while for me to get used to Alejandra Reynoso’s performance as Liko, this being her first lead role. There are some more experienced actors however, with Friede being played by Crispin Freeman, who has voiced among other roles Shizuo in Durarara!!, Fuma in X, Alucard in Hellsing, Kray in Promare, Kyon in Haruhi Suzumiya and Zelgadis in Slayers.

It also takes a bit of time getting used to the animation in this series. While the vast majority is good, some sequences, especially those involving the Brave Olivine, involve using CGI. You can clearly see it being used and it can feel a little clunky when compared to the rest of the show. In terms of the title sequences, both the beginning and the end are relatively short compared to most anime, being around 20-30 seconds long. The composer, Conisch, has been involved in other Pokémon works and thus has experience dealing with the series. It all sounds good, and given the singing Fuecoco, we probably should expect some songs in the future episodes.

The story itself has got off to a decent start. Liko makes for an interesting protagonist, being a much more relatable, calm character in comparison to Ash. However, for those missing Ash, Roy certainly shares his levels of excitement. As for the rest of the cast, we have only just scratched the surface so far, but later episodes appear to show the backstory of the Rising Volt Tacklers, and the end of the sixth episode reveals another Explorer taking a more dominant role over Amethio.

All this said however, the most remarkable thing about Pokémon Horizons is that it is being broadcast on the BBC so quickly after it has been shown in Japan. It is even being broadcast in the UK before it has had a chance to be released in the USA, where the series is coming to Netflix, but not until February 2024. With the BBC now airing anime so quickly, ITV having a stock of Anime Ltd. titles on its streaming platform, and Channel 4 to air the films of Makoto Shinkai on Film4 later this month, it is clear that British broadcasters are expanding their range. Might the BBC start bagging the rights to other series? I think it is unlikely that they will venture into anything beyond “kids’ shows”, but let’s hope they do.