Pokemon Anime Roasts Shiny Hunters in Latest Episode

Pokemon‘s latest episode brought Ash back to the Unova region from the Black and White series, and this introduced new hero Go to several new additions to his team. As Ash and Go traveled across Unova’s desert in order to explore a mysterious temple, they came across all sorts of powerful new potential additions to Go’s collection. But there was one that was hard fought as Ash and Go found themselves suddenly working together in a Raid Battle in order to catch a particularly strong Golurk. During all of this, they also meet a curious young trainer.

In the temple itself, they meet Colovari. He’s a peculiar trainer with a Shiny Psyduck (which the anime refers to as “alternate colored”), and reveals that he’s out only to catch Shiny variations of Pokemon. When he says all, he really means it as he announces to Ash and Go that he’s out to catch Shiny versions of all 800 plus Pokemon (remaining stuck in this dream) after catching a Shiny Psyduck as his very first one.

Soon Ash and Go call him out on this as he shows them he’s only caught less than five Pokemon so far, and even when they mention how rare shinies are (slightly poking fun at the fact that this might be a fool’s errand) Colovari believes it’s his destiny to have a Pokedex that’s filled with nothing but alternate-colored Pokemon.

There are some Pokemon fans who enjoy the game in this fashion, but Colovari is an extreme example of some of the more dedicated type of Shiny Hunters. He believes he’s on a journey destined for him, and it’s cut him off from catching more than a few throughout his travels so far. At the same time, this is the anime acknowledging the fans who choose to experience the original games in such a niche way. But what do you think?

Do you think the anime nailed its take on Shiny Hunters? Is it unfair to those who only seek out alternate colors of Pokemon? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter! Pokemon: The Series is now airing new episodes weekly in Japan, but unfortunately is still not officially licensed for an English language release as of this writing. There’s also a brand new film on the way to Japan this Summer, Pokemon the Movie: Coco.