Pokemon Anime Debuts a Surprising Starter Evolution

Warning! Major spoilers for Episode 17 of Pokemon: The Series below! The newest Pokemon anime continues to surprise fans with each new episode of the series. Not only did it move Ash Ketchum back to the Kanto region for his home base this time around, but the new additions from Pokemon Sword and Shield‘s Galar region have been kept to a minimum. We’ve seen a few elements of those games such as Dynamaxing and the introduction of a whole new league for Ash to challenge, but most of the new Pokemon have instead been going to the second protagonist in this series, Go.

We’re seeing this Pokemon world through Go’s inexperienced eyes this time around, and while he seemed like he was doing better than Ash in terms of how many Pokemon he effortlessly catches with each episode, the latest episode has in fact pulled out the rug from under him. This new series has had an anchor Starter Pokemon from the Galar region…but that’s been shaken up too.

Because while Scorbunny was an adorable new addition to the anime and Go’s very first Pokemon, it turns out that it’s also the first Starter Pokemon to evolve in this new series as well. Startling Go along with fans, Episode 17 of the new series has Scorbunny evolve into Raboot.

Episode 17 of the series sees Go and Scorbunny trying to pick up a new attack, but when Team Rocket attacks Scorbunny pushes beyond its limit and surprisingly evolves into Raboot. Raboot is able to fight off Team Rocket all by itself, but it’s clear that it might have evolved before Go was ready. Choosing not to respect Go following the battle, it seems like Go is going to have his work cut out for him going forward.

With only a few episodes into this new series, it’s sure surprising to see Scorbunny removed from the series so soon given how it essentially acted as the Galar mascot. But in a new series full of massive changes, this is just another on top of the cake. But what do you think?

How do you feel about Pokemon introducing its first evolved Starter so soon into its new run? How are you feeling about losing Scorbunny as one of the anchors of the new season already? Do you think Gou and Raboot will be able to patch things up? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!