Why I Love the Pokemon Sun & Moon Anime

So...I'm now 18 years old.

I definitely feel like I’ve changed over the years. I’m not the same person I was even two weeks ago. I grow and change every day. But with that said, I still don’t quite feel like an adult yet. I feel like I still have so much maturing to do before I can officially call myself an adult. I only vaguely know what I want to do with my life, I could live off of macaroni and cheese (boxed, homemade, I don’t discriminate) for a good period of time, and I still sleep with a nightlight. I think it says a lot about my lack of maturity that for my post to celebrate turning eighteen, I chose to write about a cartoon.

I can already hear a chorus of die-hard anime fans: “ANIME IS NOT A CARTOON!” And to be fair, I don’t feel like wading into that discourse. I know jack about anime in general. I wouldn’t be opposed to getting more into it, but for the time being, I just don’t know much about it. But what I do know a ton about is Pokémon.

Pretty much everybody has heard of Pokémon and its ever-popular mascot, Pikachu. For a time, my  Pokémon knowledge was limited to that vague understanding of what it was, but at the tail end of 2018, I decided to get into Pokémon Go, basically became obsessed, and took in pretty much every Pokémon-related thing I could. I watched lists and fact videos on YouTube and looked up facts about all the creatures on the ever-helpful Bulbapedia (basically Wikipedia but about Pokémon). I just fell in love with the variety of monster characters in the series and how there seemed to be at least one Pokémon to appeal to everyone. I really just scoured the Internet for anything and everything to do with this series. And part of that was realizing that Netflix has select seasons of the anime available to watch.

Pokémon is the biggest media franchise in the world, with video games, a trading card game, a very long-running TV series, films (both anime and live-action, with Detective Pikachu and its proposed sequel), manga, and so much more. The core idea of the franchise is that Pokémon are fictional creatures, almost all with fantastical powers, which are classified by "type" depending on their powers (for example, those with fire powers are fire-types.) Pokémon are caught by humans and can battle or just be their friends. The Pokémon evolve, or grow into more powerful forms, and as they evolve, their relationships with their partners will blossom too. When my brothers were younger, they liked Pokémon because of the “cool fight stuff,” but that’s not why I love it so much. I love how ultimately, it’s about friendship. I love the creativity that goes into developing the Pokémon world. Even as somebody who isn’t into action/violence kinds of things, I love the mechanics of Pokémon battles, where it’s as much about strategy as it is strength. With over 1,000 episodes to its name, I’ve barely made a dent in the Pokémon anime, but from what I’ve seen, all of these things I love so much are amplified in the show.

The anime is an adaptation of the games, and although there are spinoffs, the main series focuses on a ten-year-old boy named Ash Ketchum and his quest to be a master Pokémon trainer. With each pair of games (because the games always get released in pairs) comes a new anime series, and when I was first getting into Pokémon, the current anime series was Sun & Moon. Because this was the current series (and because I had become obsessed with Rowlet, one of the Pokémon from the Sun & Moon games), I decided it was a good place to start. So I started watching Pokémon Sun & Moon, and I fell in love. In this post, I’m going to gush over the Sun & Moon anime. I’m not going to claim my opinions are facts and that it’s the best show ever created, but I just want to talk about how much I love this show from the bottom of my heart. And while it may be silly of me to talk about what’s essentially a kids show on my eighteenth birthday, I think of it as me indulging and raving about a show that means a lot to me because it’s a special day. I could talk for hours about every detail of every episode that makes me happy, but I’m going to try to limit it to five main points. Of course, as I always do when talking about things I’m passionate about, I’ll get wordy, but bear with me and my self-indulgence!

1. The cast of characters is diverse and just about all of them are enjoyable. 

The six kids and their Pokémon

Like the other Pokémon anime series, Sun & Moon follows Ash Ketchum, a young boy who never seems to age, on his adventures to become a Pokémon Master. Unlike past Pokémon series where Ash and two or three friends travel around whatever region they’re debuting that generation, Ash has a consistent home base, called the Pokémon School. He also has a larger group of friends, with five friends who go to the Pokémon School with him. These friends are Lana, who specializes in water-type Pokémon and is calm with a sarcastic side, Mallow, who specializes in grass-type Pokemon and wants to be a chef, Sophocles, who specializes in electric-type Pokémon and is very interested in technology, Kiawe, a fire-type specialist who is extremely passionate about literally everything, and Lillie, who is actually afraid of Pokémon for a good chunk of the series (more on her later). Kiawe is probably my favorite of them because of how ridiculously over-the-top he gets, but I love them all. They’re all interested in different things and have different goals in life, but they come together because of their love of Pokémon, and I just love how supportive they all are of each other. They also have some really fun Pokémon partners, including Lana’s adorable, hardworking, seal-like Popplio, Sophocles’s hyperactive electric hedgehog, Togedemaru, Kiawe’s Turtonator (a giant fire turtle with a surprisingly gentle demeanor) and Marowak (a flame-twirling character who loves to cause trouble), and Lillie’s sweet Alolan Vulpix, an Arctic fox-like Pokémon she calls Snowy.

In addition to the six main characters all being pretty enjoyable, we also have some great side characters. Professor Kukui is the professor at the Pokémon School, and Ash also lives with him. It’s common knowledge among Pokémon anime fans that Ash’s father is nowhere to be seen, so Professor Kukui does a great job of filling that void, being the father Ash never had. Kukui also has a side gig as a wrestler called the Masked Royal, and it’s always entertaining because it’s very obvious that he’s the one behind the mask, but nobody ever seems to realize it. Later in the series, Kukui gets a wife named Professor Burnet, who is like a second mom to Ash and is really kind and charismatic. I like how she is a die-hard fan of the Masked Royal, yet she can't put two and two together and realize why her husband is never there whenever they go to see the Masked Royal. Another fun character is Lusamine, who is Lillie’s mom and the head of the Aether Foundation, an organization Ash and his friends do some work for throughout the series. I love how Lusamine can be incredibly serious, but can’t help but dote on her children, much to her unimpressed daughter’s chagrin. Lillie also has a brother named Gladion, who is very serious and a good rival for Ash. Their rivalry is done quite well, where both characters are compelled to train harder as a result of it. Finally, the iconic failures of villains, Team Rocket, also appear in this series. Jessie, James, and Meowth are hilariously incompetent as ever in this series, and they have some fun Pokémon along for the ride. Specifically, Jessie catches a Mimikyu, a horrifying spirit who wears a shoddy Pikachu disguise due to it craving the attention Pikachu gets. This Mimikyu also vehemently hates Pikachu, so it’s a great choice for Team Rocket, who have tried and failed to steal Ash’s Pikachu for decades.

2. From his wolf-like Lycanroc to his fire cat, Litten, Ash’s Pokémon also have some great personalities, but my personal favorite is easily his Rowlet, the adorable owl-like Pokémon who is probably my single favorite thing about existing. I limited myself to 300 words on why Rowlet is my favorite, because lord knows I could write a ten-page essay on this bird and how special it is to me.

A nice, cuddly bird friend to sit on your shoulder. I have a plushie Rowlet and I love him every day. 

At the beginning of each Pokémon game, you have the option to pick one of three starter Pokémon , which will serve as your first friend on your journey. To promote these characters, the anime always gives Ash at least one starter Pokémon per series, and the first one Ash got in Sun & Moon was the grass-type Rowlet. Rowlet was already easily my favorite of the three starters before watching the show due to its adorable, round appearance and leafy bow tie. However, watching the show made me fall in love with the little owl even more. Ash’s Rowlet is not one of his most powerful Pokémon from a battling perspective, but the critter has so much character. It’s a running gag that Rowlet likes to fall asleep in Ash’s backpack at the most inopportune times, which makes me laugh every time. In the Ultra Legends season, Ash picks up a metallic blob Pokémon with a nut head, known as Meltan. Rowlet’s relationship with Meltan is almost like a cute father-son deal, as Rowlet protects Meltan and helps it find its head. I also love how Rowlet is mostly lazy, but shows a strong work ethic to train and do its best. One of Ash’s friends, Hau, has the Pokémon Dartrix, which later evolves into Decidueye. These two Pokémon are the evolutions of Rowlet, so Rowlet works hard to defeat its evolutionary family. Also, in the Alola League, Rowlet faces Hau’s Decidueye in a leaf cloak similar to the one Decidueye wears, which is adorable. With its naive and relaxed nature yet great bouts of power, Ash’s Rowlet is precious. Rowlet is my personal favorite Pokemon of all time, and its role in the anime just adds to that.

3. The world of Alola is just wonderful.

The four islands of Alola

When I was younger I thought the setting was an important thing in determining the quality of a work of fiction. I specifically tried arguing that I liked Divergent better than The Hunger Games because I found its setting more interesting...yeah. I don’t have time to break down every way why that argument is terrible and wrong, but the point is that just because your teacher tells you setting is one of the five elements of literature doesn’t mean it’s necessarily important in determining whether a work of fiction is good or not. But in this case, I’d argue that the setting is a big part (though far from the only reason) why I enjoy this show so much. The Pokémon Sun and Moon games and anime are set in the tropical Alola region. This region is based off of Hawaii, so naturally, it’s as gorgeous as its real-world counterpart. The beaches and ocean are beautiful, and the towns remind me of when I went to Orange Beach, Alabama last year; so laid-back. Alola also has a very diverse ecosystem with forests, a volcano, canyons, and even snowy mountains, which you wouldn’t expect from such a tropical place. But more than just being beautiful, the world of Alola is wonderfully developed. Episodes of the anime show its traditions and customs and the daily lives of its citizens. More than that, they really stress the connection between people and Pokémon. The people of Alola really value life and nature and the beauty of those things. If I were to go to any fictional location, I would absolutely, without a doubt in my mind, choose to go to Alola.

4. The art style, although different from past series, does a great job of lending itself to the comedic tone of the show.

One of the big criticisms people have for the Sun & Moon anime is that they changed the art style. I get why, seeing as the previous Pokémon anime series, X&Y, had a darker, more serious feel, and Sun & Moon...does not. That’s the other big criticism: it’s too comedic. It might be because this was the first Pokémon series I really watched in depth (so I am inherently biased), but I don’t see why this is a problem. And yeah, the art style is different, but I don’t see why that’s a problem, either. Yes, it’s more silly-looking and playful, but it still looks nice (for the most part) and it fits the comedic tone of the show. Besides, the animation in the battle scenes looks so fluid. I also get a laugh out of the garish, sometimes horrifyingly detailed faces they give the characters. I just think it’s amusing. It’s like the artists purposely challenge themselves to see how grotesque they can make the facial expressions.

In one of the episodes, the Pokémon School plays baseball, and you get so many ridiculous faces it's not even funny. That episode is one of the most absurd Pokémon-related things I've ever seen, and I love it.  

There are a ton of these super-garish faces throughout the show and they're kind of terrifying but make me laugh.

I’m pretty sure the games get developed way before the show, so the game developers decided first that the Sun & Moon games would be set in a tropical island region. And because of the tropical vacation location, the people in charge of the anime decided to give it a light-hearted tone. It would be downright ridiculous if Ash went to this tropical island and was all serious the entire time. It makes perfect sense that it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and I like that it doesn’t. The show has a bunch of running gags that I find amusing, such as Team Rocket getting carried off at the most inopportune times by a Bewear who defies physics, Principal Oak making absolutely terrible Pokémon puns that don’t make any sense whatsoever, and Rowlet constantly falling asleep. It’s a show you can watch when you need some cheering up...except when it’s not, which brings us to reason #5 of why I love this show.

5. Despite its largely comedic tone, the series still manages to have genuinely serious, heart-tugging moments. This is where we get spoiler-y.

Exhibit A: Episode 21, titled One Journey Ends, Another Begins…. In this episode, the stray cat Litten deals with the loss of its mentor, an elderly dog Pokémon called Stoutland. This episode deals with grief so well. Not only is the actual death really sad (it’s a dog dying, of course it’s sad), but the aftermath and how Litten grieves is even more heartbreaking. Despite Litten being, you know, a cat, the show does a fantastic and relatable job of showing how it grieves, as Litten is seen refusing to eat due to how primal its sadness is. Plus I really like how...normal Stoutland’s death is. It doesn’t die in a dramatic, heroic way, it just gets old and can’t take life anymore. In most forms of media, characters die in horrible, dramatic, over-the-top ways, but there is nothing dramatic here. Despite the fact that this show is ultimately about creatures with supernatural powers, I think this episode deals with losing a loved one and grieving in such a real, powerful way.

In this scene, Litten sees its friend at the doctor's, desperately trying to stay alive. Its cries are so pathetic and it's heartbreaking. 

Exhibit B: Episode 79, titled Showering the World with Love! In this episode, Professor Kukui’s class goes to see showers of Minior, a meteor-like Pokémon. The Minior fall to earth and the characters make friends with them. However, they learn that it only lasts for a day, because then the Minior have to return to outer space- disintegrating on their way up. It shows that even though it can be sad to say goodbye, it’s important to recognize the good times and memories we have with people. Also this episode deserves a damn medal for animation alone. The colorful Minior shower scenes are so beautiful.

In this episode, one of Ash's Pokémon, Poipole, befriends a Minior and goes through the five stages of grief in a very short amount of time upon saying goodbye. It's more poignant than it has any right to be. 

Exhibit C: Episode 108, titled Memories in the Mist! The premise of this episode basically guaranteed there were gonna be waterworks, but still. Basically, each of the four islands of Alola has a guardian spirit, and the guardian of Poni Island, Tapu Fini, has the ability to conjure a mist that allows the living to be reunited with their loved ones who have passed. While Ash and his friends are on Poni Island, they come across the mist and from there, you get nothing but me crying. Ash’s Litten, who has now evolved, is reunited with its mentor, Stoutland, and it shows its undeniably proud friend how it has become even stronger in an incredibly heartwarming yet sad moment. But the saddest moment is Mallow’s story and role in this episode.

Throughout the series, Mallow’s dad is shown every so often, but her mom is absent and never really brought up, so you’d wonder where she is and what happened to her. Well, in this episode, Mallow breaks down in tears when explaining to Lana that her mom died due to an illness when she was young. She confesses that her mom always apologized to her for her illness, and Mallow was sick of it so her final words to her mother were “I hate you!” This happened only five and a half minutes into the episode but I was already crying, and things did not get better. Due to the note Mallow and her mom parted on, Mallow did not want to see her mom in the mist, but Lana told her that it would be worth it. Then she actually sees her mom in the mist and it was just absolutely beautiful and more mature than you’d ever expect from the typically lighthearted world of Pokémon. She breaks down and tells her mom that she’s sorry for what she said, but her mom is forgiving and tells her how proud she is of her. I don’t normally cry that much when watching things, listening to music, reading books, etc. but I absolutely cried when watching Memories in the Mist. It’s just a fantastic episode in all aspects.

Even without the context that this is a girl reuniting with her deceased mother, this is a gorgeous frame solely from an aesthetic standpoint. 

Exhibit D: The fact that a main character’s arc is literally about PTSD. They don’t say “PTSD” outright because this is a show for kids and it will go over their heads but Lillie can’t touch Pokémon because of a traumatic event. That’s pretty much PTSD, from what I know. Parents can watch Sun & Moon with their kids and use it to explain the concept of PTSD, as well as death and grief, saying goodbye, working hard, and a whole bunch of other important things to teach kids. Lillie’s arc also shows that getting over your fears in life is difficult, but so rewarding. Lillie is easily the most developed of Ash’s friends and they did her arc so well. She’s one of my absolute favorites on the show.

And when Lillie overcomes her fear, it's one of the most joyful things I've ever seen. She is so happy to be free and it's beautiful.

I’m not gonna say Pokémon Sun & Moon is a perfect show. One thing I notice is that they seem to spend more time eating and talking about how every food in Alola is “so good!” and “delish!” than anything else. I guess it makes sense because Mallow’s entire character is based off of her desires to be a chef, but it seems like once every episode they have a food scene and Ash remarks that everything is “yum, so good!” And this is probably a petty complaint, but I wouldn’t have done it so often, instead using the screen time to show more battles or showing the kids’ Pokémon without their trainers. And on that note, one other thing I really like about this show is that it shows how the Pokémon act when they’re not with their trainers. I adore this one scene where Meltan loses his nut head and his new friend Rowlet tries to help him find it- and makes some truly incredible faces.

This is actually the face of an earlier Pokémon, called Xatu. Do you ever have such a breakdown that you turn into another person- literally? That's what's happening here.

The attitude. It's impeccable.

This one is my personal favorite, and what we in the current slang business like to call a "big mood." If I ever make a Twitter, this will probably be my profile picture. 

I think it says a lot about this show that even when I’m trying to criticize it, I end up talking about aspects of it that I love so much. And again, I won’t say this is a perfect show, nor will I say it’s a must-watch for everyone. This is a kids show, after all. All I want to do is make the case that it deserves more than people give it. If you have any interest in Pokémon at all and want to get into it, or are trying to get back into the series, I personally feel like Sun & Moon is a great place to start. If you’re interested at all in what I’ve been talking about, you should check it out on Netflix or DisneyXD. You just might like what you see.

This was a fun post for me to write, because posts where I get really passionate about things are always the most fun to write. Next week will probably be another Kpop Crash Course, maybe another MOVIE TALK otherwise. See you next week, and happy birthday to me.

Stellar