Pokemon is a franchise that continues to grow and it has now gotten a new TV special. Instead of Ash and friends helping out the townsfolk; this special deals with Alain as he tries to become the strongest trainer around. It will be tough and the road is hard, but that’s not going to stop him and Charizard! It was a fun special, but I believe it should have been longer. (No matter what kind of special episode, OVA, or mini movie it is; the item in question should always be around an hour)

I’ve already described most of the plot, but it should be noted that a girl named Mairin gets in on the action. After witnessing an epic clash between Alain and another Pokemon trainer; she takes it upon herself to follow him and learn the secret behind Mega Evolution. Alain doesn’t seem to want her around, but he’s not able to ditch her because of other Mega opponents that are around. He won’t stop until he’s defeated every last one of them!

Alain is our lead in this special and he’s a decent character. Alain is definitely no Ash Ketchum when it comes to personality, but he definitely has some skills. (Of course, Charizard Is doing most of the work…) He tries to be mean to Mairin so that she will ditch him, but it doesn’t work. Beyond that, he tends to be a nice guy, but he also gets straight to the point. He wants to defeat his opponents and that’s what he intends to do. You’re not really able to write a whole lot of personality in a character within 20 minutes so that’s good enough for now. As such, Alain is a bit generic at the moment.

Mairin doesn’t fare much better. She trips quite a lot and it can definitely be a little over the top. She’s definitely out of her league at this point and she has a ways to go. Luckily, she just started her Pokemon journey so this is to be expected at this point. She’s much better than all of the other “Marron” characters that I’ve seen. (DBZ character reference) A solid time skip would work out pretty well for her and she has potential to be a tough trainer. It just won’t be realized at the moment.

Naturally, most of the hype around this special was directed at the Mega Evolutions that were going to be witnessed. The special does a good job of showing just how massive the power upgrade is in this form. The first battle ends up taking down most of the forest in collateral damage. Mega Charizard is always fun to see and Garchomp’s Mega form is very impressive as well. One can watch this special just for the fights because they’re that good. Now more people can accept the fact that Pokemon can definitely keep up with the Justice League or the Avengers.

The overall animation for the special is really good as well. I dare say that it’s slightly flashier than the latest episodes (Which are already awesome) and each attack looks great. The ultimate dragon attack from Blastoise was really large and you could practically feel the power. Every part of the special felt polished and animated to perfection. It’s definitely one of the better animations that I’ve seen in a while.

Unfortunately, the special falls a bit with the soundtrack. It’s very sub par compared to the average array of Pokemon themes and especially in consideration of the recent Pokemon Origins special. The tunes were generic at best and they really did not go well with the fights. That always hurts the overall experience because you need solid music to really be able to enjoy the battles to their full potential.

I recommend watching the special until the very end because we get a cliffhanger. It may be extremely generic, but it’s good enough for me. A generic cliffhanger beats no cliffhanger at all! Hopefully part II comes soon because I’m ready for more Mega fights. I may miss Ash and friends, but I can still enjoy this without them.

Overall, I highly recommend checking this special out. It’s a great way to launch yourself into the Pokemon franchise. The special has heart and a lot of action. Ash Ketchum even gets referenced and it’s in a pretty epic way. Alain better hope that their paths never cross! Their’s also a good intro that shows off a lot of the Pokemon so that you get their Mega Forms can be seen. It’s short as well so there’s no reason not to watch it! Pokemon will always be one of the best franchises out there.

Overall 8/10