AsPokémon Horizonshas continued to march onward, an interesting theme has emerged in the series, and it’s one that never would’ve worked in Ash’s era. That theme is one of family, a subject which never really received all that much attention in the previous series.
In the original anime starring Ash Ketchum, the subject of family almost never comes up;Ash’s dad is still unknowneven after 1200+ episodes, and his mother only rarely played a role in storylines, and even then was mostly there to cheer on Ash. Ash would place phone calls to Professor Oak far more often than to his own mother, and he had no other family to speak of. It’s somewhat understandable, as the dream of endless adventure that the show represents doesn’t mix too well with the concept of family.
However,Pokémon Horizonshas found a way to incorporate family without sacrificing adventure.
Pokémon Horizons Makes Family Important
Liko, Roy, and Dot All Have Established Family
Family has played a role inPokémon Horizonsfrom the very first episode, where it’s established that Liko received her mysterious pendant from her grandmother. Friede and co. are only introduced to Liko due to being hired by Liko’s mother to bring her home, and Liko’s father plays a tangential role in the plot with his storybooks aboutthe Ancient Adventurer, whose tale has been passed down in Liko’s family for generations. Liko’s grandmother even shows up and remains for several episodes, and she’s actually a very cool character of a type that fans have never really seen before.
While Liko’s family is the most relevant, both of the other major characters also have established families. A big part of the reason that Dot is the way that she is is due to her mother’s overprotective influence, and Dot’s mother does show up at one point, attempting to take her home. Dot also has her uncle, Murdock, aboard the ship with her, often looking out for her and worrying over her. Roy is first introduced living with his grandfather, and more recently it was established that his penchant for singing with Fuecoco was influenced by his parents, who are often gone for long periods on ocean-bound voyages.
It’s a much more realistic take on what a Pokémon adventure might look like. While the original anime did toy with this idea on rare occasions, most notably in the third movie,Spell of the Unown, where Ash’s mother is kidnapped, family just wasn’t important to Ash the way it is inHorizons. This focus on family has really helped to establishPokémon Horizonsas a different sort of series, and with hints that Liko’s heritage is more than it appears, it seems like that theme will only continue to grow stronger as the series moves into the future.
Pokémon Horizonsneeded to set itself apart from the previous series, and it needed to do that quickly. It seems like the writers ofPokémon Horizonsfound exactly the thing that was missing from Ash’s era, and by making it central to the story, have clearly defined what makes this series different, and why it has a story worth telling.
Pokémon Horizons
Cast
Pokémon Horizons: The Series follows Liko and Roy as they explore and uncover secrets alongside characters like Friede and Captain Pikachu. Released in 2023, this addition to the Pokémon franchise invites viewers into exciting new adventures with familiar and new faces.
