That trailer was sure something... Not sure what to say. I guess I was hyped because the scenery (Pallet Town, I presume) was really pretty, Ho-oh cameoed, and "Mezase Pokémon Master" played, which I haven't heard in ages! :3 "It's been 3000 years.." ...okay, maybe a few months/years.. ^_^. Not to mention that the animators did that cool-yet-cliché sequence of having a facially-obscured character tightening/adjusting his/her clothes and grabbing items needed in preparation for adventure..
On the other hand, of course this movie seems to be gearing up to be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the
Pokémon franchise and embracing nostalgia is fitting and all, but a Kanto-saga retelling..? Really? -.- I mean, the
Pokémon anime movies have been in a slump lately saleswise so the decision makes sense, but resorting to yet another continuity reboot/retelling (of sorts) is the last option I was looking forward to.. Then again, what else can the writers do? If they're retaining Ash and not using new protagonists, it seems hard to do plots that don't involve a legendary/legendary-ish Pokémon and don't involve a residential villainous team/crime syndicate.. In any case, I've been
really soured by the repetitive usage of reboots and remakes and retellings in media franchises these days - especially when you're just redoing something that's already been told in a similar format, like what happened with the early parts of the
Dragon Ball Super anime series and the
Boruto: Naruto Next Generation manga series. Just because you can remake/retell something doesn't mean that you should; the technique should be reserved for select scenarios, in my opinion.. >_>. At least
Digimon and
Yu-Gi-Oh! did nostalgia right - rather than just retelling something, they used old characters to tell new stories with
Digimon Adventure tri. and
Yu-Gi-Oh! the Movie: The Dark Side of Dimensions, respectively.
Regarding Ash's Kanto saga, if I wanted to revisit that, I would just rewatch the original series episodes.. >_>. And if the writers want newer generations to experience the "old era of
Pokémon ", rebroadcast the original series on television and/or offer the entirety of the original series on digital platforms like iTunes or something. If we're going to be revisiting anything, I guess that I would like the writers to do something with
the original concepts of
Pokémon The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back prior to when it got modified into the version that exists today/prior to when
Pokémon became a
cash-cow franchise..
I guess the pacing will be interesting to see (depending if this is a single 20th-anniversary movie or a 20th-anniversary movie mini-series); both
Pokémon Origins and
Pokémon Generations have been criticized a bit in that regard.. I feel that the original series of the
Pokémon anime had great pacing (prior to Johto, at least); even if there were filler episodes (as in, inconsequential to main plotline), all the episodes that I can recall seemed purposeful/meaningful..
LOL; Ho-oh's movie appearance gets shafted once again.. XD. Even if this just a "one movie" deal, I feel like it doesn't really count as a "movie Ho-oh appearance" by virtue of this just being a special case as a retelling of the original series, in the same vein as how
Pokémon The Movie: Jirachi Wish-Maker doesn't really count as a Groudon appearance because the Groudon was fake and formed unnaturally.. Sigh.
It will be hilarious/strange if the "
Never Trust A Trailer" trope applies here.. I mean, Ho-oh's gotten (figuratively) burned once before with the "Lugia vs. Ho-oh" trailer for
Pokémon The Movie: Zoroark: Master of Illusions..
So maybe back to business as usual next year? The writers are kind of limited for Alolan legendary Pokémon to focus on - Necrozma and Marshadow are probably viable for standalone movies, maybe Solgaleo and Lunala and/or some of the Tapus/Island Guardians will feature in at least 1 movie if the main anime holds off long enough, although hopefully the implementation won't be too redundant in terms of "TV series vs. movies". The few options left seem like Silvally (and maybe Arceus again) and Zygarde, unless some random non-legendary Pokémon (like Pyukumuku?) is made to appear legendary like what happened to Lucario (you'll always be legendary in my eyes, Aura Pokémon :'( ).
It would be interesting if the region wasn't Kanto, but I highly doubt that it will be the case. Sigh...come on Kanto, you've gotten 4 generation appearances and a Nintendo 3DS rerelease (one of which you weren't even supposed to be in (
Pokémon Gold and Silver), akin to the White Witch in the recent Narnia movie(s)), multiple anime features (original series during pre-Orange Islands saga, Hoenn era's Battle Frontier season, and whenever Ash goes home for an episode or two), an anime miniseries (
Pokémon Origins), numerous references in Kalos (particularly wasting Santalune Forest's layout potential), innumerable manga cameos, and who knows what else - and now, a dedicated movie, most likely! Yeah, it's the
Pokémon franchise's 20th anniversary and all and Kanto was first, but take a freaking break! 25th anniversary isn't even that far off and already it's expending most of the nostalgia I have for it, if any.. It's honestly one of my favorite regions after Hoenn, but the overexposure is getting a bit much.. Normally, this issue wouldn't be so much of a problem, but
Pokémon is one of the few franchises where changes in location is an aspect that each set of iterations takes pride in..
So
TL;DR - somewhat hyped yet disappointed that we might be getting yet another retelling, even amidst the 20th-anniversary festivities of
Pokémon. I guess that I'll wait for more information, but retelling seems likely at this point, unless we're somehow getting Ash Jr....?
P.S.: Just gushing over the trailer's movie logo at the end; I love how it looks so 1980s/1990s in design and morphs to a modern 2010s-ish design, and even though I have more familiarity with the English counterpart, "Mezase Pokémon Master" conveyed a really nice sense of "adventure brimming with possibilities" along with being reminiscent of something from one's own past..!
P.P.S.: New hat's logo is ugly, tying with the ugliness of Ash's hat for his Sun/Moon outfit in which the logo tries too hard to be an abstract Poké Ball and fails miserably (all of Ash's other hats have nice designs, in my opinion). *shaking my head* Either reuse the original logo/mark or just sensibly stick to a nice-looking abstract full Poké Ball logo or partial Poké Ball logo like all the other hats have done..
