Review | Pokémon: The Arceus Chronicles

“Pokémon: The Arceus Chronicles teams up new and old characters for an entertaining new adventure.”

As with every Pokémon video game comes an Anime adaptation of it. Unlike Sword and Shield that was adapted through a couple of episodes in Pokémon Journeys, Arceus is released internationally as a special with The Arceus Chronicles. In Japan, it was released as four standalone episodes. But Netflix has combined them into one film. So, is this another good addition to the Pokémon franchise?

STORY

If you have played Arceus, it takes place before everything we have seen in the Pokémon storyline. But obviously as usual with the Anime adaptations, the story has to involve Ash and Pikachu. So, this film sends Ash to the Sinnoh region in present time. And with it, comes a little history lesson. Indeed, the first part of the film has Ash and Goh doing research about Arceus which leads them to learning about the early days of Pokémon trainers. The little history lesson is a nice tribute to the video game. They have found the way to honour the game while telling a new story with Ash.

To help Ash and Goh, fan-favorite Brock is back. He is true to his usual self. It surely brought back some memories from the very first Pokémon series. Dawn also makes her return. Hence, this is quite the team to face dangerous odds. And they do have a big challenge to face against Team Galactic. It is a group of evil-doers who want to create a new world order. This new adventure is entertaining. Moreover, beyond the Arceus references, this story has some heavy connections to Diamond and Pearl.

VISUALS AND SCORE

The film uses the same animation as in Pokémon Journeys. Thus, this is visually good especially the Sinnoh original village. I love its design, reminiscent of ancient Japanese villages. However, it doesn’t have any striking visuals like in Secrets of the Jungle. Indeed, the other places seen throughout the story are basic environment. Though, knowing this film was actually four episodes put together, it makes sense why they didn’t try to do more. The animation in the Pokémon series is never as good as for the films.

Furthermore, the same thing happened with the score. Apart from the classic Pokémon theme, this film does not have any memorable score. There is not even a new theme song. Consequently, it is definitely disappointing.