Pokemon’s Anime Missed Out On The Best Champion And It’s Pokemon Go’s Fault

Up until the debut of Pokemon Journeys, the animated series had followed a predictable flow. A grouping of seasons would build off whatever generation had just launched in the video game series, with Ash Ketchum exploring the region and meeting the characters. For many of us, the conclusion of Sun and Moon meant the arrival of Galar, the chance for Ash to pair up with characters like Hop and Gloria, and the opportunity to see him battle against some of the best characters in the video game franchise’s history.

Unfortunately, that is not what happened. Instead of getting Pokemon The Series: Sword and Shield, we got Pokemon Journeys. This series followed Ash post his Championship win in Alola, where he had apparently taken to ambling around waiting for his next big opportunity. However, this series does have a gimmick, and it nearly ruined the animated series, passing up one of the best Champions in the series.

Instead of Leon, We Got Goh

Pokemon Journeys: The Series debuted in the summer of 2020. It featured a post-champion Ash and his new companion Goh. While Ash has chosen to continue his journey to become a Pokemon Master (whatever that means by this point in the series), Goh has a different goal – to catch one of every Pokemon in the world, including Mew.

Yes, Pokemon threw a Galar storyline under the bus to feed Pokemon Go mania. Goh’s entire personality was built around the mobile app game. He was able to catch Pokemon with almost no effort, rarely battling them. It became a rage meme that he was a god, capable of catching Legendary Pokemon just by being in the right place at the right time.

However, Pokemon Go doesn’t have a story. This left the creators to cobble a thin plot together where Ash and Goh become part of a research team that must travel across all the regions. The first season was unspeakably poor. The plotlines of many episodes made almost no sense, and the show seemed to be an extended advertisement for Pokemon Go.

While the first season held a few cameos for Galar characters, fans didn’t really see much of the Sword and Shield cast until the Ultimate and Masters seasons. However, the way this was handled ruins one of the best characters in Galar, Champion Leon.

Leon Deserved Better

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In Pokemon Sword and Shield, Champion Leon has a very difficult position in the Galar region. He has become a celebrity, more so than many of the Champions of other regions. Because of the way the Elite Four functions in the area, these powerful trainers have become celebrated as icons, unable to escape the pressures of their work. Leon has to maintain his Champion duties while also assisting Chairman Rose in investigating and exploring the Galar Particles that enable Dynamax and Gigantamax.

Those who have finished the games know that Rose isn’t what he seems, and that he has roped Leon into helping him complete a truly horrible process without the Champion’s knowledge. This leads to the summoning of Eternatus, and a battle Leon fails to win against the dangerous Legendary Pokemon. In the games, this process is devastating to Leon, uprooting his identity and destroying the life he had spent years building.

Leon’s journey in Sword and Shield is beautiful, emotionally intense, and powerful. Players connect to him, fight with him, and feel his losses at the end of the game. His journey in post-game to build the Galarian Star Tournament is his redemption arc, and the process is cathartic to everyone who rode out the horrors Rose inflicted on the region.

Unfortunately, anime fans were robbed of the opportunity to really understand and connect with Leon, as he was turned into “beat him” fodder for Ash. Leon’s entire story was boiled down to “that guy is really strong”, and all his complexities were removed. He was just another opponent, and it was one of the biggest disappointments the anime has ever delivered.

I had been looking forward to Ash’s journey through the Galar region from the debut of the Gen Eight games. The opportunity to see some of the emotionally intense moments from the video game in full animation had me on the edge of my seat.

Instead, we got Ash and Goh “rapping” with Shellder on their heads – all so the anime could try and boost/benefit from Pokemon Go.

While it isn’t likely the Galar region will ever get a dedicated anime, I hope that one day there is a chance to go back and revisit the amazing characters of Sword and Shield in a mini-series. There is so much magic in Leon’s story, and it’s such a shame it was passed up for a flimsy mobile game with no story or hooks to make it interesting as a TV show.