Warning: Spoiler Alert!
A show that I’ve watched recently is called Pokemon Origins. It is a show going over the original red and blue pokemon games which were the first to come out. Telling them for a new generation and also had some sides of the story more fleshed out. If you have played any Pokemon games you should know how it goes. The protagonist, Red, picks Charmander, the fire pokemon. Then your rival, Blue, picks Squirtle, a water type which is strong against Charmander. Professor Oak, the person who gave the pokemon to the two, only gave these pokemon to them because he wants them to fulfill his lifelong dream of completing the Pokedex. However, Blue, his grandson, has other intentions, to become the Pokemon League Champion. Red is more pure-hearted in his efforts and just wanted to complete Professor’s goal but Blue and the first gym leader Brock had to tell him if he wanted to complete the Pokedex, he had to be a strong trainer.

After learning this lesson, Red basically flies through all of the gyms with no development except for when he challenges Brock. The episodes mainly focus on Red’s battles against Team Rocket, the antagonist group of the show, and in the games. This is where my problem with the show starts. In the games, you don’t just face Team Rocket and try to take them down. You have to face the Gym leaders and go across the routes finding and catching new pokemon. How the show focuses on Team Rocket is disappointing because it makes the show more about Team Rocket rather than your journey with the Pokemon. However, the fight against the Elite Four and the Champion Blue redeemed the show in a way. The fight, especially against Blue, was really fleshed out and interesting. Also, the hunt and battle against Mewtwo were very interesting and also added something new to the original Kanto adventure.

Even after all of this, I still recommend Pokemon origins to people who want to get into Pokemon and those who played the games. It explains key concepts of the game very well and provides nostalgia for Pokemon OGs like me.