The brand new Pokémon series, Pokémon Horizons: The Series has begun its official broadcast in Japan, and it tells a new story without Ash Ketchum and his partner Pikachu. While the new series tells its own original story, The Pokémon Company has made sure that a beloved Pokémon still makes an appearance.
Episode two of Pokémon Horizons, titled “The Pendant of Beginning, Part 2” marked the debut of Captain Pikachu‘s power. In the episode, Freddie challenged Amethio in a Pokémon battle and viewers got to witness how this electric mouse Pokémon is different from Ash’s. Let’s just say, this battle was electrifying, to say the least.
Captain Pikachu is someone you wouldn’t want to mess with. Unlike in the first anime series, Captain Pikachu is a master of deception and was able to showcase its fullest potential. Fans praised that this Pikachu was someone willing to go into physical combat rather than just overly relying on its electrical attacks. But at the same time, viewers enjoyed the callbacks to some of Pikachu’s iconic moves.
In addition to the action scenes, viewers noticed that the voice acting performance for Pikachu is different compared to the original series. In the original anime series, Pikachu sounded high-pitched and squeaky. But in Pokémon Horizons, Pikachu sounds slightly different.
Captain Pikachu is one of many Pikachu variants that exist in the franchise. Let’s not forget the existence of Detective Pikachu, voiced by Ryan Reynolds in the live-action adaptation of Detective Pikachu.
When it was announced that Ash and Pikachu would be leaving the anime after their victory in the Master Eight Tournament, fans were upset to see their favorite characters they’d grown up with say goodbye. Leading up to the show’s finale, The Pokémon Company announced the return of Pikachu in the new series through Captain Pikachu. Hopefully, the series will showcase more of this Pokémon considering that he and Freddie were part of the show’s promotion.
Pokémon Horizons: The Series is currently being broadcast on TV Tokyo. Dates for the series’ official English dub have not yet been announced.