After dealing with a major threat to the Galar region, Ash and Goh continue their journey as if nothing had ever changed. Still, it feels like we're finally getting into the significant challenges that both of our protagonists were bound to face as they start getting closer to their goals. As Ash continues to go up the ranks, he faces more obstacles in the form of stronger trainers who are not only just as experienced as he is, but some also seem to make an effort to tear down his Pokémon more personally. This doesn't discourage Ash in the long run, but it does lead to some interesting moments where Ash does need to sit down with his Pokémon more one on one in an attempt for them to reach new heights. We see this with Ash training with his Farfetch'd in the way of chivalry and later on with Lucario, who seems to be working its way into being one of Ash's aces of this region right behind his Pikachu.

Ash's bond with Lucario has always been given a bit more focus compared to the rest of his team, and that trend seems to carry over here as well, especially since it seems to run in tandem with Ash's growing rivalry with Bea. We even see the return of Iris, who is now a champion, just like in the games, to show that Ash isn't the only one who has grown during his time in between regions. This time though, there seems to be more of an effort for Ash to dip into every resource he can to stand out amongst the crowd. Not only does he get more comfortable using Dynamaxing, he even revisits the Alola region to access his exclusive Z-Move and learns a little bit from his former rival Korrina about Mega Evolution. In particular, Ash picking up Mega Evolution is interesting since that was a gimmick introduced during XY. If you remember, The Pokémon Company went out of their way to create a completely original ability for Ash with his Geninja to combat Mega Evolution without actually giving it to him.

Pokémon: Master Journeys continues the trend of what we saw during the first dozens of episodes as it calls back to old things and brings them to the present to progress the story forward. Here it's in a much more tangible way, as Ash is dipping into previous gimmicks from past generations to augment his current team as he rises up the ranks. We even get the chance to see how those gimmicks stack up against former opponents as the cast finally expands to introduce other old rivals to the scene. By the end of these episodes, you do get the sense that Ash is probably the most equipped he ever has been to take on new opponents outside of just going back to use some of the stronger Pokémon from previous generations. I'm not sure why he doesn't do that. If I'm being honest, that might have made this season a bit stronger thematically if he was pulling from every past Pokémon he could, but this is a problem with The Pokémon Company trying to have its cake and eat it too by introducing new concepts while also keeping the rigidity of Ash having one team per generation. I guess no matter what, some gimmicks are just a bit hard to let go of.

Speaking of Goh, he gets a lot more focus and character development during this section of the anime, and it is well appreciated. While Goh is a dual protagonist in this series, his attachment to Ash makes him seem more like a follower than a character in his own right. He has his own goal and aspirations, but his desire to catch every Pokémon was more so something that was casually happening rather than a driving force of the narrative. The introduction of Project Mew gives Goh more focus and agency as he needs to go out on missions now that involve powerful Pokémon and other trainers to interact more directly with outside of Ash. This wrinkle in his character is best mirrored in his relationship with Gary Oak, Ash's former rival who seeks to be a part of Project Mew. Using an old legacy character as a rival to help give Goh a bit more agency is actually really clever. Not only does it push Goh a bit more to step outside of his comfort zone as he confronts a character who seems to have mastered the art of passive aggressiveness, but it also feels familiar for older fans since Gary is treating Goh the same way that he used to treat Ash back when they were starting out.

Once again, this is where Pokémon: Journeys shines the most, taking familiar past elements and putting a twist on them in the present day to progress the story forward. In Ash's case, it's using technical aspects to make him a better trainer to stand up to others from all over. In Goh's case, it's taking familiar character dynamics to progress his character so he can stand more on his own two feet apart from Ash. I will say that this falters a little bit with the introduction of Chloe, Goh's childhood friend, who technically has been in Pokémon: Journeys since the beginning, but she's been getting a lot more focus during this part of the series.

She's the daughter of the professor that Goh and Ash work for. She grew up having a weird relationship with Pokémon because everyone just expected her to be a Pokémon researcher like her father, but she's at a stage in her life where she's not sure what she wants to do. All-time fans will realize this is a very similar character arc to what May went through in generation three during the Hoenn. Her arc is almost an exact mirror of what May went through during Hoenn, and I would say that's more of a detriment than a compliment. Chloe's inclusion in the story sometimes feels more like a distraction than a genuine contribution since she doesn't travel with Ash and Goh that much. If anything, she kind of accidentally and begrudgingly interacts with them at times rather than acting as a part of their journey.

I do like the parallel that she has with her first-ever Pokémon, Eevee. I think the idea is supposed to be that she has a lot of potential and the freedom to choose whatever she wants to do, like how Eevee can evolve into so many different options. You could argue that her arc is more about recognizing that freedom rather than just being beholden to what other people expect from her. That's certainly there, but my problem with the arc is that it defaults to giving her the same goal as almost every female companion Ash has had so far by just getting her interested in Pokémon contests. I'm not saying I need her to be a battler or anything, but it just feels like a lazy direction to take the character with a lot of promise at first. Honestly, that's my only real sour point with the season, as everything else is either just as good or a step in the right direction compared to what we had before.

Ok, scratch that. The music could be better. While I thought the music before was fine and even energetic when appropriate, now that things are starting to get more intense, the music selection and placement aren't following suit. It says a lot when extraordinary moments like Z-moves and Mega Evolution are met with the same background music as characters walking around. Thankfully, animation has taken a step up with some flashier and more dynamic animation effects, particularly when it comes to the involvement of legendary Pokémon during the Project Mew missions. The Project Mew missions seem to almost act like animated versions of the Pokémon raids that took place during the Sword and Shield video games or even the ones taking place now in the Scarlet and Violet games. I'm not sure if that was intentional, but the idea of group battles taking place to take down larger and more powerful Pokémon is fun, and I hope to see more of those things moving forward.

Overall, Pokémon: Master Journeys continues to be a step in the right direction. We get the involvement of more legacy characters, start bringing the series full circle by reintroducing past gimmicks and even get some nice examples of character development for the rest of our cast. Sometimes the series defaults to being a bit lazy when I feel like it doesn't really need to be, but so far, I think the series is doing more right than wrong. Only one more batch of episodes to go, so I look forward to seeing how all of this eventually comes together in the end.