This year of Pokemon has been tough to say the least. The anime continues to transition out of the old formula. Change is good, especially for a franchise that could go on until the end of the world. We have gone four generations now without Brock, while I wish he had been there for the Alola League I do think that him leaving was a good change as it allows other characters a moment to shine. With this generation I think it is apparent that the badge quest is at least over for the foreseeable future. Though, Ash staying in one place so often does make me concerned that the anime is losing its roots, if this is the case we might have to prepare for a nasty dork age.
The quest this time around is the PWC, it's our league replacement. It involves Ash ranking up to Master Class, he is in Ultra Class, right below Master Class, expect him to rank up and down until he needs to be at Master Rank. The appeal of the badge quest was the big countdown that would cause you to grow more and more excited and dreadful because the big day would be coming up, a day fans celebrate like an actual football tournament, and the big day where we'd have to say goodbye to our beloved friends would be close behind. Here though? The PWC is fixed, the progress is fake, the hype is disingenuous, Ash will be where he needs to be until he needs to be at the Master Rank. They also rushed through the Darkest Day, something I still go back and forth an being ok with. The villain plot is a highly anticipated event, the second to last obstacle before the league, a way for us to say, "We're ready to fight the ultimate battle." Here though, they go through it in four episodes, yet some parts are still better than the games.
We have a co-protagonist in Go, a divisive character to say the least. I try to be fair to characters but if I'm being honest he's pretty boring. He's subdued compared to others in terms of personality and design. His difficulty with empathy is often mishandled to the point where it doesn't feel like he quite gets what he did wrong, he still hasn't apologized to Cinderace for snapping at him as a Scorebunny and he can come across as unsympathetic. The main issue is his goal of catching every Pokemon, which he doesn't typically struggle with, only a few put up a fight. Some Pokemon probably would be willing to just be caught however, as much as we joke about it, the purpose of fighting Pokemon before catching them, or in Ash's case befriending them isn't just to make it easier but also to gain their respect. You don't catch a fainted Pokemon because there's no honor in it. A trainer has to show that they have a certain level of restraint when catching a Pokemon, after a while a person might be tempted to just knock a Pokemon out and catch it but if you keep going and resist that urge long enough the Pokemon will deem you worthy of its power. And some Pokemon just deem everyone as worthy. Where's the sportsmanship in chucking a pokeball at a Pokemon and not letting them fight?
As for the side characters, so far only Chloe has had development, I forget most others' names. We spend much time region hopping though our base is in Kanto. We go to familiar places but there's no familiar faces. Going to a familiar place without seeing old friends is like going to your old school when no one's around, it's just so empty without old faces saying, "Hey Ash!" I don't miss these towns or even the regions, I miss who I associate with these regions. Ash has been getting popular Pokemon from other generations but I don't feel too excited, not like I should. I think it's due to lack of development and the fact that they were given so quickly. Riolu was the most exciting because they brought back aura just so Ash could bond with it. It just feels like they're relying so much on hype. The anime has always been merchandise driven but it didn't use to feel like it, at least it was never obvious to me. But here? It's extremely obvious why Ash was given these Pokemon.
In conclusion this first complete year of life for Journeys has been a bumpy ride. It's had high moments, low moments, and it feels as though the writers are at a loss of what to do as I don't think they ever considered not having a badge quest. Hopefully this next year proves to be a better time for fans.