Pokemon Journeys is a marked departure from the standards that the anime has done over its 25 years of life. And we don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way. Mainly because previous iterations would do the following, Ash and a rolodex of companions would go to a new region, capture Pokemon, learn things about themselves, and then at the end Ash and one of his female companions would go to the “Leagues” of their professions and fight for the top prize/crown. Pokemon Sun and Moon did diverge a little bit from that via the “school” story, but Pokemon Journeys took that farther.
Because Pokemon Journeys would have Ash and his new companions Goh and Chloe embark upon mini-quests all over the Pokemon world instead of just one region. This has allowed fans to catch up with previous companions, Pokemon, and even rivals of Ash. And with the slate of episodes that are still coming within Japan, a much desired reunion is coming in the form of Ash’s Greninja.
Obtained as a Froakie in the Kalos region (via the much beloved Pokemon X&Y saga), Ash and his Pokemon grew in their bond until Froakie became a Greninja, and then, they ascended to a whole new level via the Bond Phenomenon where Greninja became much more distinct and powerful. At the end of the series, Greninja went off on its own journey to protect the Kalos region (with Ash’s blessing, of course). But now, it’s returning.
But to what end? According to an episode title called “Lucario and Greninja! The Wave of Destiny!”, it would appear that Ash is seeking Greninja’s help in order to further train his Lucario, whom he also has a very strong bond with.
Hopefully a very fun battle between these two erupts.
For us in the West, we’ll just have to wait for that batch of episodes to arrive on Netflix in the future.
Source: ComicBook.com
