Pokemon Gives Lieutenant Surge a Subtle Makeover

When it comes to Pokemon, you don’t want to mess with its points of perfection. Every series has room to grow and that goes for Pokemon as well. Still, there are some monsters and trainers who fans find perfect the way they are. For many of them, Lieutenant Surge is one such person, so they were a little bit surprised to see the makeover which the gym leader just got.

Recently, Pokemon: The Series revisited the famed gym leader when Ash decided to challenge the Vermillion City Gym again. The boy is set on fighting Dende to become the winner of The Pokemon Word Championships, but Ash has to get some badges to make that happen. One of these badges comes from Surge’s old haunt, and that is when fans got to see the trainer’s makeover.

Now, Surge does not show up in the episode in-person, but Ash conjures up the gym leader in his mind for a flashback. A new leader is overseeing the gym, and they regale audiences with the story of Ash’s win over Surge. When the story is being told, fans get to see Surge in action, and the character is noticeably different.

For one, Surge is given a total design overhaul given the aesthetic of this new season. Much of his design change is done because of this switch, so fans shouldn’t look too hard into the changes. The biggest swap comes with Surge’s facial features but his lighter skin has some all ruffled up. Plenty of fans believe the palate change was done because of the anime’s current color samples, but some admit they’re unhappy with his light washed appearance.

Either way, Surge definitely looks a bit different in this episode, and fans are curious to see whether the gym leader will appear before Ash soon. This new season has given the beloved trainer a chance to fight Ash again, and fans are certain the Kanto boy has the power to defeat Surge. But the only way to know for sure is for Surge to approach Ash for a rematch!

What do you make of this Pokemon makeover? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!