Pokémon Horizons: The Sequence, the newest season of the Pokémon anime and the primary to star protagonists aside from Ash Ketchum, has lastly premiered within the U.S. through a 12-episode drop on Netflix. It’s a giant deal — Ash lastly grew to become the easiest, and now we have now to go away him behind. However the brand new Pokémon trainers are only the start.
[Ed. note: Slight spoilers for Pokémon Horizons episode 10 follow.]
After introducing us to the brand new protagonists and the essential story setup, Pokémon Horizons takes occasions to the Paldea area. There, within the metropolis of Mesagoza, is a college; in Pokémon Scarlet, it’s known as Naranja Academy, whereas in Violet, it’s Uva Academy. Though there are two variations of the varsity within the video games, there can solely be one within the anime. And the winner is… Pokémon Scarlet.
For U.S. anime viewers, this may not be a shock. Horizons isn’t the one animated Pokémon sequence to function Paldea and Naranja Academy; there’s additionally Pokémon: Paldean Winds, a four-episode miniseries launched on YouTube final 12 months. However Horizons was launched in Japan in the beginning of 2023, earlier than Paldean Winds, and its standing as a part of the principle Pokémon anime sequence means it’s the one setting the tone, should you ask me. Us Individuals simply needed to wait a 12 months to get the official phrase on which model is the canon one.
Like with any new era of Pokémon video games, potential gamers needed to determine which model to purchase when Scarlet and Violet got here out. And a great portion of Pokémon followers have robust opinions. Each video games have scorching professors, in order that was a matter of private choice. Violet has the cooler legendary, in that it’s a dragon with wheels and the wheels truly work (not like Scarlet’s, which has wheel-like buildings on its physique however makes use of its toes to run). Me? I picked Scarlet. Have you ever seen Professor Sada?
The matter of which faculty you’d be attending wasn’t excessive on the checklist of execs and/or cons for both model. However the faculty does have an effect on how your character seems via the whole base sport. Neither model has significantly good vogue choices; Scarlet provides you a set of dorky orange uniforms, whereas Violet affords the identical dorky uniforms besides in a extra nice purple.
However even when Violet has the slight edge, it’s Pokémon Scarlet that will get the official anime stamp of approval. In episode 9 of Horizons, the protagonists arrive in Paldea, and we’re proven the campus of Pokémon Scarlet’s Naranja Academy. Then, in episode 10, we meet a well-known character from the video games — battle-happy rival Nemona — all decked out in her very orange Naranja Academy uniform.
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Does this truly imply something within the wider context of Pokémon? No, probably not. Whereas Pokémon video games all the time have model variations — unique Pokémon, a special coach battle right here and there — the anime has sometimes mixed them right into a cohesive complete. It’s not like Ash Ketchum needed to commerce with one other model of himself to catch ’em all. It’s simply that generally, a model distinction is large enough to be noticeable within the anime, and that is a type of instances.
So sure, perhaps Pokémon Scarlet’s model of Mesagoza is the canon one. However to Horizons’ credit score, antagonist Amethio does have a Ceruledge — the evolution of Charcadet that’s native to Violet. It’s only a disgrace that of the 2 colleges, Horizons picked the one with the uglier uniforms.
Pokémon Horizons: The Sequence is now streaming on Netflix.
