Pokemon Horizons, thePokemon ScarletandVioletanime, is set to begin one of its first story arcs in the Paldea region in a few weeks. Despite a rather slow start that has already revealed a few surprises early,Horizonsseems to be holding a strong audience evenwithout Ash and Pikachupresent. That said, it begs the question as to where the new anime plans to go from here, and it seems that it’ll get some help fromScarletandViolet’s cast.
Episode 10 ofPokemon Horizons' title reveals that it’ll introduce Brassius, the Grass-type gym leader, and Nemona, the player’s rival all the way to theend ofPokemon ScarletandViolet’sVictory Roadstoryline. While it’s great thatHorizonsis finally borrowing characters and plot elements from the games it’s meant to advertise, this may lead to one of its first adaptational struggles. In fact, Nemona’s presence may hurt the character balance thatHorizonshas worked hard to set up.
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Nemona’s Presence and Charm
Despite how many players thought that Nemona was a bit too battle-crazed at the start of Generation 9’s run, the Paldean Champion has made herself comfortable in many fans' hearts. Once it was revealed thatNemona would be inPokemon Horizons, many players were excited as it meant that the battle-loving trainer would be given a voice, among other things. APokemoncharacter being adapted to the anime is a natural rite of passage at this point, but Nemona might cause a few incidental problems with the show’s pacing.
Nemona both literally and narratively demands attention whenever she appears, asking the player to battle or pouting when she’s missed a cool match by just a few minutes or seconds. IfPokemon Horizonsaims to remain true to this part of her character, then she’ll not only be much louder than Roy and Liko automatically, but as a fan favorite, many eyes will be on her naturally as it is. It’ll be tricky working out how she can avoid hogging the spotlight incidentally while also remaining true to her portrayal inPokemon ScarletandViolet.
What Nemona’s Role in Pokemon Horizons Could Be
One way the anime could prevent Nemona from taking too much screen time is to remain true to the game rather closely in that she could always travel around the region away from Liko and Roy. However, there’s also the chance that Nemona could become Liko and Roy’s traveling companion much like Brock and Misty were to Ash, and in that regard, balancing all three characters may be tough due to Nemona’s enthusiasm. This isn’t the first time Horizons' writing has been in a tight spot, asPokemonHorizons' Captain Pikachudemanded a unique identity early on to avoid retreading Pikachu’s paw prints.
Something that makes it hard to predict just what role Nemona will serve in the anime is the fact that she’s being included with Brassius in such a way that it plays a part in the episode’s title. Due to Brassius being a gym leader, he likely won’t stick around for very long, which might mean Nemona may tackle the gym alongside Liko and Roy, and then head off on her own way once theGrass-type Pokemon gymis defeated.
Ultimately,Pokemon Horizonshas been a massive wild card since the very first day it was announced. Ever since, it has been constantly trying new things and changing up what people expect from aPokemonanime, including a moreStudio Ghibli-like directionand tone. This makes it hard to predict just where this new TV show will take both its new characters and game-based cast, but Nemona fans should definitely look forward to seeing her in the anime this June.
Pokemon ScarletandVioletare available now on Switch.
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