Pokemon‘s newest anime series has been both metaphorically and literally a walk down memory lane as Ash and Pikachu have returned to the Kanto region for the next phase of their journey, but it’s been shaking things up thanks to the new hero of the series, Go. Now that Ash is a bonafide League Champion, he’s taken a backseat to the rookie trainer Go as Go sets out on his very first foray into the world of Pokemon. Now that Go has officially gotten a starter Pokemon pal, he’s out to catch every Pokemon he can.
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Episode 6 of the series features a very subtle Easter Egg that shouts out to the original anime series as when Go and Ash set out to the forest to catch Go some Pokemon, Go’s very first attempt is with a Pidgey — who fans of the classic series might remember as the first Pokemon Ash tried (and failed) to catch when he started.
In the original anime series, Ash had no real idea how to battle and catch Pokemon. When he came across a Pidgey, he tried to wear it down with a rock before it attacked him and got away. Go made the same mistake against Pidgey in the anime too! While he doesn’t throw a rock, he quickly throws a Poke Ball without wearing Pidgey down first. But rather than it breaking out of the ball, his throw completely misses Pidgey — and it uses a whirlwind to knock him away.
But that’s not the only subtle shout out to Ash’s first steps into Pokemon training either. Go does manage to successfully catch a Pokemon soon after, and his very first official catch in the wild is a Caterpie. Fans will remember this as Ash’s first official catch in the wild as well, and it’s little moments like these that bring the old and new series together. But Go soon outshines Ash’s rookie days when he catches all of the Kanto Bug Pokemon. So while the anime is giving shout outs to the past, it’s making big strides into the future too.
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. Staff confirmed for the new series include Daiki Tomiyasu serving as chief director for OLM, Maki Odaira as series director, Kunihiko Yuyama as creative supervisor, Shoji Yonemura overseeing series construction, Shuhei Yasuda serving as character designer, Masafumi Mima as sound director, Yuki Hayashi as series composer. Voice cast members include Daiki Yamashita as Go, Yuichi Nakamura as Professor Sakuragi, Kana Hanazawa as Koharu, Megumi Hayashibara as Jessie, Shinichiro Miki as James, and Inuko Inuyama as Meowth.
