Pokémon: The Arceus Chronicles - Review

The Heatran catastrophe. 

No, no this review isn't late. I simply chose to follow a similar release gap that this special/movie event had with the game it ties into, Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Yes, that's it. It's not lateness, it's a homage! 

Anyway... a while after finishing the 'Journeys' saga of the Pokémon anime with my review of 'To Be a Pokémon Master', I realized I hadn't closed the book on this chapter of the series quite yet. In 2022, to tie in with Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the Pokémon Company released a 4 episode special, packaged as a movie on Netflix here in the West. Because its release was staggered, it was a 6-month Amazon exclusive before becoming to the rest of The West on Netflix, The Arceus Chronicles is kind of forgotten. I certainly had, and perhaps you had as well. 

Without further ado, let's dive in and see what these specials/movie is all about. 

Ash & Goh travel to the Sinnoh region to research its past during the 'Sinnoh Festival'. At the festival, they meet back up again with Ash's old travel companion Dawn and Sinnoh Champion Cynthia. The good times, however, are rudely interrupted by the re-emergence of Team Galactic, a band of criminals Ash & Dawn fought against during their travels across Sinnoh back in the day. During that original scuffle their leader Cyrus, went missing in another dimension. Combining the power of the legendary Pokémon, Heatran, with Arceus' Flame Plate, Team Galactic hopes to open a portal to this dimension and get their boss back. Heatran, however, soon grows too powerful to control and starts a rampage that threatens to burn the entire region. 

It's now up to Ash and his friends to stop Team Galactic once again and save the Sinnoh region from this out-of-control Heatran. 

To set the tone immediately: I don't like Pokémon: The Arceus Chronicles very much. We don't get that strong Pokémon Legends: Arceus tie-in that it seemed like it would be. What we do get feels like it's just spinning its wheels. 

The structure of these episodes can be explained thusly: the first episode is Ash, Goh and Dawn at the festival learning about Hisui and the rest is a 'safe the region' plot that is near constant action. That is Heatran's rampage and Ash & Co going from battle to battle, problem to problem. That could be engaging if the tension is strong but I didn't find any of it tense enough to keep me engaged. It didn't feel like there was an actual progression going on. Not one problem naturally rolling into the other but just stuff keeps on happening with the gang pretty much having the same reaction every single time.

Dawn, Goh & Ash in Husui gear, learning about the ancient Pokéballs. 

To be clear: the Pokémon Anime is aimed at kids. I, an adult, might find the story and setpieces very lacking but kids? I think they'll enjoy both. The narrative isn't hard to follow even if you do not know Dawn, the Diamond & Pearl anime etc. The action pieces, while oh so predictable, are no doubt exciting to children who may not think that far ahead and probably haven't seen these types of scenarios play out many times before. 

What is certainly nice about the story is seeing the Sinnoh gang, Ash, Dawn & Brock, back together again. They make a good trio. I'm also pleasantly surprised by the amount of callbacks and continuity here to the Diamond & Pearl era. Under the 'Journeys' banner, the series embraced its history more but even with that in mind I didn't expect them to have this many references. Team Galactic´s plot to find their leader goes back to their final appearance in the Diamond & Pearl series. Other events, such as our trio meeting the Lake Trio, are also not only remembered but play an active role. That is quite neat. 

Back to the Legends Arceus tie-in with the Hisui stuff: it's disappointingly little. The timing of the special and its focus on Sinnoh leaves no doubt that it's made a promotional tie-in to Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl and Legends: Arceus. With 'Arceus' in the name, not to mention the promotional material showing Hisuian Pokémon, I thought that it would have a lot of focus on Hisui. That is not the case. It's very superficial. Doesn't go further than a small contest and lore bits that don't extend past the first episode with a very brief sequence at the very end. 

If you want Hisui in anime form, then 'Hisuian Snow' is what you need to watch. Not this. For general Sinnoh stuff? As I already stated, it got that in spades. 

What it also has in spades is good animation and recognizable tunes. The animation style remains well-done and fitting for Pokémon and the animation here is well done. The out-of-control Heatran looks cool and moves appropriately menacing. The battle, while again predictable, is choreographed well enough. For the music: I heard a few Diamond & Pearl and Legends: Arceus tunes pop up which was nice. Helps with the atmosphere, you know?

Conclusion

I'm not impressed with Pokémon: The Arceus Chronicles. As a tie-in to Pokémon Legends Arceus, it fails because of how shallow the tie-in elements are. As a 'big event', I don't find it all that grand. When we talk about scale and quality, it just doesn't hold a candle to any Pokémon movie. It's right in that awkward middle-ground of a normal episode and movie. They're fine as separate episodes but underwhelming as a 'special event'. 

I think kids will enjoy it, they'll undoubtedly find the story and set pieces more exciting. For older fans, I don't see much here. An acceptable watch but that's about it.