Pokémon Horizons: The Series

With Ash Ketchum finally stepping aside following a 25-year run, Pokémon Horizons replaces him with Liko, a shy girl from the Paldea region who transfers to Kanto's Indigo Academy with her Grass-type cat partner Nyahoja and a mysterious pendant from her grandmother. That pendant turns out to be way more important than anyone expected, because shady people start showing up to take it from her, and suddenly her quiet school life turns into a globe-trotting adventure. She teams up with Roy, a kid from Kanto who has his own ancient artifact — a weird old Poké Ball — and the two of them end up joining the Rising Volt Tacklers, a crew of adventurers traveling the world. Their items are somehow connected to a legendary figure named Lucius and his six companion Pokémon, and figuring out that mystery becomes the driving thread of the whole series. What makes this feel different from the Ash era is the tighter plot structure. There's an actual ongoing narrative with real stakes instead of region-hopping filler loops. It's still comedic and action-packed enough for younger viewers, but the adventure format gives it a vibe closer to Digimon Adventure or even Yo-Kai Watch, where the group dynamic carries the show. If you bounced off Pokémon years ago because it felt repetitive, this is genuinely a clean slate worth trying. Studio OLM handles the animation, and the Paldea-inspired world design adds a fresh look to a franchise that needed one.