How Different would a fully Western "Pokemon" cartoon be?

Ryu Taylor

Ryu Taylor

Eternally loyal to the dub and TPCi
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Back when the plans to export Pokemon to foreign audiences were being made, there was a point where Nintendo of America was going to change many (if not all) of the Pokemon designs to market to the general American public they thought would judge it by its cute cover. And it was only because Tsunekazu Ishihara put his foot down that NoA canceled those plans.

Even though I'm glad that happened, I'm curious to see what a Westernized "Pokemon" would've been like.

For instance, the cartoon. How different would it be if there was a fully Western version? Let's discuss.
 
For starters, I highly doubt that a western Pokemon animated series would last anywhere near as long as the anime has been going. It would have covered the first generation of games and maybe the second generation too, but I do not think that they'd still be making it nearly twenty years later like they've been doing with the anime. I'm sure that the fact that the anime is being made in Japan rather than in another country is a factor as to why they've been keeping it going. They can use it, as well as the newest movies, to promote new Pokemon and features. I don't think that could have happened if the show was made in the U.S. instead.

Even though the anime is still doing relatively well after being on the air for so long, it would be treated differently if it was a western cartoon rather than something like an anime. I imagine that dubbing an anime, while expensive in its own right, cost less money than it does to create a show from the ground up. I don't think that a western Pokemon series would be making Simpsons level money to justify for the business executive of any channel to keep it going, even with the games still selling like hotcakes.

And if the designs were changed for western audiences, there's no guarantee that it would have been as much of a hit. It still probably would have done well at first because of how Pokemon was at its peak of popularity and pretty much anything Pokemon related was practically guaranteed to sell well, but I don't know how the different designs for the Pokemon would affect that either. The artwork for the first generation wasn't drastically different from how the Pokemon looked in the original series, but if they were, it might have felt like Pokemon in name only for fans of the games. There's also no guarantee that any of the human characters would be as appealing to kids as Ash, Misty, Brock and Team Rocket were for those who watched the show back in the day.

While seeing what they could have come up with for a western Pokemon series could have been interesting, I think it's much better in the long run that it didn't happen. The anime is able to keep going on for nearly twenty years because it's an anime and they're able to use it to help promote the merchandise because it's made in Japan. A western Pokemon series couldn't do any of that and it might not have been received well with the kind of changes they wanted to do either. It's an interesting thought, but I don't think it would have had a lasting impact on the franchise as a whole like the anime has.
 
they would make Dragon Tail work like in the games, to switch oponent and not forget about the game mechanics.
 
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Matleo said:
the would make Dragon Tail work like in the games, to switch oponent and not forget about the game mechanics.
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Considering that 4Kids made a lot of mistakes with types and Pokemon, a few of which are pretty infamous like the whole Arbok evolves into Serviper thing, I have my doubts that another western company making the show would be significantly more faithful to the game mechanics. It's even less likely when you look at stuff like the Super Mario Bros. and Zelda cartoons.
 
I've long thought that if a Pokémon cartoon series were done by a "Western" animation studio back in the late 1990s, be it DiC, CINAR/Cookie Jar, Hanna-Barbera/Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. Animation, or whatever other studios were out there at that time, that such a show would consist of 7-11 minute short subjects, with two or three stories per 30 minute episode, with no continuity whatsoever. Not to mention such a show would not last very long (case in point, the three Super Mario shows done by DiC between 1989-91).

Like DiC's aforementioned Mario shows, there would be a completely new series covering a new generation of Pokémon Games (one series for R/B/Y, and another newly-titled show for G/S/C, and so on). Additionally, there would be widespread sharp criticism of such a show, perhaps to the same level as the Mario cartoons got. The voice actors would be the same Canadian acts used by other animated shows done at the time by DiC and CINAR (the latter having collapsed as the result of a major financial scandal involving its founders, and reorganized into Cookie Jar, which in turn bought the former).
 
Probably eyes that look very different from the original Pokemons. Like, Mickey Mouse type of eyes. They might even make Pikachu more like Mickey because they are both mice?
 
The Super Mario Bros Super Show x Pokemon Origins

Assuming the games were the same, I feel like any similarities to the regular anime would be coincidences. Red would be the protagonist and probably have a talking Pikachu sidekick. His personality would probably be like Kanto!Ash's but more of an asshole probably. Blue would probably be a rival just like Gary in the anime only around a lot more often. Red would probably have one or two human traveling companions, probably just an original character since gym leaders becoming sidekicks isn't the obvious choice and I'm not sure an entire different company would make the same decision. Giovanni would probably be similar to King Koopa from the DiC Mario cartoons, super "villain"-esque and have his evilness exaggerated. There might be two or three Rocket grunts as henchmen, but I don't think they'd be very similar to the Rocket trio in the main anime. They'd probably be generic grunts with unique hair colors or faces, wouldn't have a motto every episode (and on the off chance they did it'd probably be one or two lines and just be stock animation, not unique setups and performances like the older series') and would probably not have the charm of either the Japanese or 4Kids version of the trio (they'd probably be a mix of TPCi Team Rocket and the Koopalings from DiC's Mario cartoons).

On the flip side, if the main anime still happened in this universe, it definitely wouldn't be dubbed since there'd already be an American cartoon, but it might see a sub years later. The show itself would probably be more Kanto-esque in its later years with more slapstick violence and Japanese culture. I also think the case could be made that Jynx's design wouldn't have been changed, at least if a bunch of Pokemon designs had been changed to begin with.
 
It would probably be handled as a franchise like Transformers, My Little Pony, Scooby-Doo or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the series' style would be similar to Lilo & Stitch and Dinosaur King (it's an anime but whatever). It would get tons of reboots over the years, with a new animation style every time. Some series would be cancelled after 1 season while others would last for more.

There would be no badge quest, and all episodes would be Monster of the week due to the goal being Gotta catch'em all. Team Rocket would have the same goal.

It could also have gone the Power Rangers route and adapt some characters and situations from the anime.
 
Nicolas721 said:
It would probably be handled as a franchise like Transformers, My Little Pony, Scooby-Doo or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the series' style would be similar to Lilo & Stitch and Dinosaur King (it's an anime but whatever). It would get tons of reboots over the years, with a new animation style every time. Some series would be cancelled after 1 season while others would last for more.

There would be no badge quest, and all episodes would be Monster of the week due to the goal being Gotta catch'em all. Team Rocket would have the same goal.

It could also have gone the Power Rangers route and adapt some characters and situations from the anime.
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I could definitely see it going the Power Rangers route, especially an In Space or Lost Galaxy style route where there is an overarching story for the season. As for whether or not there would be a badge quest, maybe, maybe not. I think that there would be, but it might not be as heavily emphasized during some of the seasons, such as the Unova or Kalos seasons due to Team Plasma and Team Flare being the villains, especially Team Flare since defeat means humanity dies. It would also be interesting to see how a western Pokémon cartoon would handle the issues brought up by N and Team Plasma.
 
I can imagine the fandom wars already if two versions of the Pokemon Anime/Cartoon existed - the Japanese "Eastern" version and the adapted American "Western" version.
 
I don't think it would've been all that successful nor would it have lasted long. I think part of the reason Pokémon attracted people was because it was different than all the other shows airing.
In other the words the fact that it was an anime made it stand out and it helped pave the way for other anime series to go West.
 
Well considering Avatar: The Last Airbender was a "Western" show and it was a good show, I would hope that whoever the showrunner and writers are they would make it watchable.
 
Taking Mario's, Zelda's, Nintendo's, etc... cartoons made back in the '90 I doubt it'd work. Remember how none of these were faithful and how the characters turned out to be very stupid in their animated forms?

Also coninuity'd be thrown out of the window and we'd probably have a season with unconnected stories.
 
KatsumiChris1991 said:
Well considering Avatar: The Last Airbender was a "Western" show and it was a good show, I would hope that whoever the showrunner and writers are they would make it watchable.
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That comparison doesn't quite work. Sure, Avatar was a good show and it was western, but it wasn't a toyetic driven series like a Pokemon western cartoon would be. The primary purpose of a western animated Pokemon series, much like the anime itself, would be to promote the games and toys rather than tell a complete story like Avatar's primary purpose was. That difference would drastically change how they'd handle the stories and characters most likely. Plus, this is comparing a show from the 2000's with a hypothetical show that would have run around the late 90's. The comparison just feels random to me. Just because there are good western animated series like Avatar doesn't necessarily mean that a western Pokemon series would be function in the same way or be has highly regarded. It would be extremely unlikely for that to be the case if the other Nintendo based cartoon series are any indication of how a Pokemon series would be treated.
 
Hidden Mew said:
That comparison doesn't quite work. Sure, Avatar was a good show and it was western, but it wasn't a toyetic driven series like a Pokemon western cartoon would be. The primary purpose of a western animated Pokemon series, much like the anime itself, would be to promote the games and toys rather than tell a complete story like Avatar's primary purpose was. That difference would drastically change how they'd handle the stories and characters most likely.
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Yes, but a show that isn't good isn't going to sell a lot of merchandise. I have to wonder if the merchandise that is selling right now is due to the games, or the animé. From what I've seen, the animé's ratings have fallen with all but one of the Kalos League episodes being out of the top ten in animé ratings in Japan. And in the US and in the west, I think its ratings are decreasing as well, with more people being familiar with it due to the games and trading cards. I have to wonder if the animé were different and a more story-driven show like the Avatar series, that it would be doing better. Actually, you don't even have to look at Avatar. You can look at the newer Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. Both of them have been more serious and story-driven, yet also are designed to sell toys. It doesn't have to be one or the other.
 
Mew2 said:
Yes, but a show that isn't good isn't going to sell a lot of merchandise. I have to wonder if the merchandise that is selling right now is due to the games, or the animé. From what I've seen, the animé's ratings have fallen with all but one of the Kalos League episodes being out of the top ten in animé ratings in Japan. And in the US and in the west, I think its ratings are decreasing as well, with more people being familiar with it due to the games and trading cards. I have to wonder if the animé were different and a more story-driven show like the Avatar series, that it would be doing better. Actually, you don't even have to look at Avatar. You can look at the newer Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. Both of them have been more serious and story-driven, yet also are designed to sell toys. It doesn't have to be one or the other.
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I didn't mean to imply that a toy driven show has to choose one or the other. There are plenty of toyetic series that are story driven too and few of which I genuinely love as well. I'm just saying that promoting the merchandise is always going to take priority over a show like Pokemon. That's the case for any toyetic series. If they need to plug in a new Pokemon, a starter deck for Yu-Gi-Oh! or some new toy for Digimon, then it's going to be put into the show, regardless of the storyline.

As for the ratings, I don't know how much stock I'd really put into ratings for much of anything nowadays, or at least I wouldn't take it as a sign that people aren't aware of the anime. With stuff like the Internet and On Demand existing, people don't have to watch shows when they air on TV anymore, although I don't know if Japan has something like On Demand available. It's even worse to use that for the U.S. since the dub has been stuck at the 7AM deathslot since the new season premiered with no repeats and little to no promotion for it. Ratings aren't the most accurate way of determining how well a show is performing in this day and age and I'm not sure how they could update it besides factoring in anyone watching a show legally online or something like that. Besides all that, for a toyetic show, ratings aren't a huge deal, at least compared to merchandise sales.

While the new TMNT series is a better comparison given that it's also designed to sell toys, that's still a show that was made nearly two decades later than when a hypothetical western Pokemon series could have been made. That's another reason why both comparisons don't really work for me because animated series in the 2000's and especially the 2010's are different from what came in the 90's. The styles and tastes differ between every decade really, but that's why I don't think it's accurate to say that because this show made in 2012 is good means that completely different people could have made a good Pokemon series in the late 90's. There are good story driven 90's animated series, but I don't think it's as common or as well received as it is right now. The connection between them is pretty weak besides being toy driven shows. It's like saying A could equal C because they're both letters. At least the comparisons to the Nintendo cartoon series are a bit more fitting when they're based on Nintendo properties and made not too long before a Pokemon series could have been made, so it's more than bringing up two unrelated western shows.

As for whether or not Pokemon could be more successful if it was more serious and story driven, that's hard to say. While the anime is far from perfect, I don't think not being serious and as story driven as it could be is one of its problems. It would depend on if it could still click with kids like it did when Pokemon first started, but again, it would be hard to see if the reaction to the show would be the same if it was drastically different. There's also no guarantee that being serious and story driven could attract kids. I still highly doubt that we'd get something like a serious and story driven western animated Pokemon series too.
 
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