Pokemontrainers and anime fans everywhere are about to get another blast of nostalgia. As part of the newest season in thePokemonanime, Ash and friends will once again journey back to a familiar region: Johto.
As of today, the anime has been going for 23 seasons over the last two decades. As such, it may be hard to remember Johto premiered as the third season and debuted many favorites from the second generation introduced so many years ago. For many fans, the idea that there was another region in the world filled with newPokemonwaiting to be discovered was incredible. On that note, the anime’s adaptation of Generation 8 currently has Ash and Go, the newest traveling companion and co-protagonist,visiting previously explored regions such as Kanto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Johto starting in the next episode.
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In episode 9 of the newPokemonanime, Ash and Go will get a glimpse of what appears to be Ho-Oh prior to arriving in Johto, paralleling howAsh saw the same legendary at the beginning of his journeyin the firstPokemonseason. After that chance encounter, the duo will run into some characters of the day who are holding a rainbow wing, the key item to summoning Ho-Oh in the games. At this point, it’s clear that they are planning to get the legendary bird’s attention, but it remains to be seen how Ash and Go will fit into the plot.
From the preview and premise, Ho-Oh will probably inspire Go face-to-face in a similar callback to when Ash first laid eyes on it back in 1997. However, there is also a chance that Ash and Pikachu will be able to face Ho-Oh in aPokemonbattle. But keep in mind that likethe previous battle with Lugia, such a fight could be very one-sided. Battling aside, the next episode seems likely to reintroduce many Generation 2 favorites or introduce more recent fans to a whole new world ofPokemon.
Yet the return of many familiar Pokemon also means that trainers everywhere might see other old friends soon. For now, the only returning characters have been Ash andTeam Rocket, pursuing Pikachu as usual. However, there’s a chance that Ash and Go run into former traveling companions either in their home region or elsewhere as a result of their previous character arcs.
In the end, the next episode of thePokemonanime seems ready to give veteran fans more of the Johto region upgraded to today’s standards. But at the same time, it’s showcasing many innovations that occurred in Generation 8, with plenty more improvements and fan-requestedcontent coming in 2020 for thePokemon SwordandShieldgames.
