So I felt an updated list was in order and this time I'm including Sun and Moon since we have 40 Episodes down and that's long enough for 1 Season(Season 6 or Pokemon Advanced was that long). I will also be introducing a grading rubric based on the following 5 criteria on a scale of 1-10.
1) Ash's Companions: Will grade them on Chemistry and their progression towards their goals.
2) Series OST: Opening Themes(including their longer versions that appear in their respective Pokemon Movies) and OST that appears in the Anime will be judged here. Some were excellent while others were a bit hard on the ears and fell flat.
3) Rivals: Some rivals were great, others... not so much. How well did they push our beloved protagonist and this includes those meant for our Female Protagonist.
4) Antagonist Groups: Their Schemes as well as characters play a pivotal role as to whether a series is memorable. Most did a decent job, although some more so than others.
5) Champions and Gym Leaders: Some Champions and Gym Leaders stood out from the rest. This includes Battle Frontier where some gave Ash a real challenge and others were downright pushovers.
Kalos Region(XY/XYZ or Seasons 17 to 19). Score: 10/9/9/10/9.5 for a 47.5 out of 50.
Where do I begin with this series. The family atmosphere this group exhibits makes me want to watch this series over and over. The Wife Gag with Bonnie, Bill Nye the Science Guy Clemont and the Bashful Serena made this group unique. Serena's progression from a timid secondary character to one of confidence and determination made me respect her as the main Female lead. As such they earned a perfect score for Companions. When it came to the OST and Opening Themes, this series had some really good ones. Dori Dori is memorable for Serena and the XYZ theme is great(particularly its Japanese version). My only knock on it is that for the English Dub of Season 17 they reused Season 1's lyrics with a different vocalist and therefore docked them a point for creativity. As for rivals, Sawyer and Alain were great. Not only did they push Ash hard near the end of the series but their battles in the League Tournament were awesome. As for Serena, her rivals were great as well. Shauna and Miette stood out with Miette adding that extra Amourshipping flavor that made any Episode she was in worth watching. As for Antagonist Groups, I gave extremely high marks to Team Flare as Lysander was insane. As for Champions and Gym Leaders, this region scored exceptionally well. Diantha was a superb Champion and virtually every Gym Leader tested Ash to the fullest. I only docked it a half a point because I thought the battle with Clemont should have been exclusively Electric Types(being an Electric Gym, hence no Bunnelby). Despite that, it takes my #1 spot(albeit barely).
Sinnoh Region(Diamond and Pearl or Seasons 10 to 13). Score: 10/9/10/9/9 for a 47 out of 50.
Diamond and Pearl is arguably the best series for a lot of Pokemon fans and I can understand why. When it came to the group, Dawn and Brock were just awesome. Although Brock changed career goals at the end of this series, his path towards a Breeder was proceeding well as he raised a Happiny from an Egg to evolve into a Chansey. Tack on his classic Cassanova routine(with Croagunk in tow) and his Frying Pan as a Drying Pan and well you know the rest. As for Dawn, talk about a metamorphosis. Goes from a cocky and inexperienced trainer to one of confidence and passionate determination. Her consecutive defeats showed a dark and ugly side to her that ultimately made her more relatable to us fans. Finally, lets not forget her nickname: Diamond Dandruff. Talk about unique and a perfect 10 for companions. As for OST and other works within the Anime, there were a lot of original and creative works, most notably
Dawn's Contest Theme that makes me want to watch her Contests over and over. I took a point off because Season 10's English intro could have been better frankly but the next two(We Were Heroes and Galactic Battles) were just superb. With regards to rivals, had to give a perfect score here. Paul is arguably the best rival Ash has ever had. Brutally crude and unforgiving in his training methods and yet got the results he wanted by beating Ash at every opportunity(until the League Tournament of course... which made the result even more satisfying). As for Dawn's rivals, Zoey, Kenny, Nando and Ursula were great in their own respects. Zoey and Kenny in particular because they even put Ash in his place on a few occasions(hasn't been done since if I'm not mistaken). Team Galactic was a superb Antagonist Group but I docked a point off of them because they used Hunter J to achieve their goals and objectives. As for Gym Leaders and Champions... just wow. Cynthia is an awesome champion and arguably the best there is. I took a point off the Gym Leaders because even though some gave Ash a rough time, I didn't quite think they challenged him as hard as those in Kalos. Overall though... a solid series and earns second place.
Hoenn Region(Advanced or Seasons 6 to 9). Score: 7/9/8/8/9 for a 41 out of 50
Pokemon Advanced was the first series where they changed things up. Not only was Ash going to a new region but Ash also had a new Female Lead in May. May was a good companion but I thought they botched her early on with her dislike of Pokemon and then suddenly liking them(how did that happen?). I also didn't like her being sad after losing a contest one minute and being all bubbly and happy like nothing ever happened a few minutes later. They fixed that in the next series with Dawn, which is why I took a few points off. Brock was same as always and progressed by raising a Bonsly into a Sudowoodo. As for Max... I took an additional point off because I just couldn't stand Max. Max was frankly a useless fourth wheel that served no purpose other than to pull Brock away from his daily wooing of girls. May could have done that while also showcasing the new Coordinator arc. As for OST and other scores, I thought Advanced Generation did great in this regard. Lots of new content and scores that I really liked, including
Hoenn Heroes and the openings for Season 7 and 8. Took a point off for Season 6(didn't like it) and Battle Frontier could have been a bit better in my eyes. With regards to rivals, Tyson and Morrison didn't exactly come across as major rivals for Ash, hence I docked a few points. Could have been lower were it not for May's rivals being exceptional. Drew, Harley and Solidad were all great Coordinators(and I still ship DrewxMay). As for Antagonist groups, Team Magma and Team Aqua were decent but they basically competed against one another for the top group in the region. Their goals also conflicted with one another and frankly having two groups was one group too many, hence docked a couple points. As for Champions and Gym Leaders, Steven as the Champion was solid. Even appears in Kalos to help against Team Flare(and for ORAS promotion I would assume) but I took a point off because these Gym Leaders didn't exactly put up much of a fight against Ash. Would have taken off more but then there was the Battle Frontier and well that was awesome. A solid third place in my latest rankings.
Kanto/Johto Region(Original Series or Seasons 1 to 5). Score: 9/9.5/7/8/7 for a 40.5 out of 50
With Brock and Misty returning in Sun and Moon, I went to watching the Original Series again and I must say the Nostalgia really impacted this ranking. The Chemistry between the three was great but I docked a point because the writers sadly ramrodded Misty into her Cerulean Gym Prison and the fact they replaced Brock with Tracey for 36 Episodes. Tracey is a character that could die and I wouldn't miss him one bit. As for OST and other music, this series started it all and I almost gave it a perfect score but docked half a point because the 2nd season theme(which is used for Pokemon Go if I'm not mistaken) was not as great as the other seasonal theme's(in my opinion). Favorite theme from the OS was
Psyduck's. I would die if that is played in Sun and Moon. As for rivals, Gary Oak was solid but we didn't see him battle Ash until the end of Orange Islands or 116 Episodes into the series. Most rivals would have battled Ash long before then. Had to wait until the Johto Tournament before Ash finally got the chance to really face him(and ultimately defeat him). Yet after winning against Gary, Gary loses his rival status, which didn't befall other Ash rivals in the Anime, hence docked a few points. Then there is Ritchie and Harrison, two unknown Trainers who manage to defeat Ash out of the blue(which I dislike, hence docked a point). Team Rocket for an Antagonist group was decent but nothing spectacular was ever done that wow'd me. I mean sure Ash and the gang imitating them was classic(still waiting for Sun and Moon to do it....) but Team Rocket essentially had the weakest showing of all Antagonist groups. Yet despite that, I gave them high marks because it is Team Rocket after all ;). As for Champion of Kanto/Johto, Lance was ok but frankly they could have chosen someone else as Lance leads the Elite 4. The Gym Leaders in the Orange Islands were surprisingly decent but Johto and Kanto Gym Leaders left much to be desired(especially in Kanto). Outside of Clair, Whitney, Koga and Blaine, I thought the rest could have challenged Ash a bit more but eh its just my opinion. Solid 4th place finish considering where it was last time.
Unova Region(Black and White or Seasons 14 to 16). Score: 8/8/6/9/8 for a 39 out of 50
I rewatched this series and honestly, my feelings towards it soured. Iris and Cilan were decent companions and both of them developed as characters(especially Iris). However I had to dock a couple Companion points because "Your such a Kid" really drove me insane by the time I was a quarter of the way through the series. Yes we know he's a kid Iris... but so are you!!! As for OST and other scores, not too many to choose from, although I found its Season 15 theme to be the best. Season 14 fell flat to me(hence docked a couple points). What really hurt this series was the rivals. All of Ash's rivals, save for maybe Bianca, were just poorly designed and executed. Losing to Cameron with him having just 5 Pokemon... still the biggest disgrace in Pokemon anime history. Not even Iris' rival in Georgia or Cilan's rival in Burgandy can escape my wrath, earning this region a well deserved 6 for rival score. The lone bright spot for this region was Team Plasma and N. Were it not for this, Black and White might have scored much lower. As for Champions and Gym Leaders, Alder was a decent Champion but again the Gym Leaders could have done better in challenging Ash. Only Elesa and Roxie came across as decent Gym Leaders(to me anyway). Putting Ash's imbecile nature aside, this region deserves its current 5th place placement.
Alola Region(Sun and Moon or Season 20*Ongoing*). Score: 6/7/7/5/8 for a 33 out of 50
Finally to Sun and Moon and although I resisted placing this series initially I think its now time that I do so. It has the unique opportunity to move up in my rankings but it would have to do a great deal in order to do so because this series really has dug itself a hole. For starters, it suffers from too many characters syndrome. Sophacles is a pointless character and Mallow has been shafted by the writers. Heck even Lillie(who played a pivotal role in the games) has yet to take charge and separate herself(which is a shame but again this series has the unique opportunity to change things as its still ongoing). Kiawe and Lana really are the only bright spots so far and hence I give Companion score a 6. For OST/Themes, the English theme is ok but for Japanese they've reused the Original series song which although its good it lacks creativity and hence docked it a few points. Rest of the series soundtrack is meh so far, hence a score of 7. With regards to rivals, its still early but we've only had 1 instance between Ash and Gladion and it was interrupted. I could score it lower but I'll give it a score of 7. If there is anything that has plagued Sun and Moon so far, its the antagonist group. I could score it even lower but so far Team Skull has yet to impress(their theme isn't bad though). Plus Aether Foundation has yet to be introduced so I gave it a 5 out of pity. I suppose the lone bright spot in the series is the Kahuna's(as there are no Gym Leaders or Champion due to no League). Hala and Olivia both gave Ash a solid challenge but with there only being two so far, I can't give a perfect score(hence a respectable 8).