Pokémon: Twilight Wings

Typically, a Pokémon anime follows a trainer on a journey. This one doesn't. Pokémon: Twilight Wings is a seven-episode ONA set in the Galar region that instead zooms in on the people who live there — gym leaders, kids in hospitals, taxi drivers — and tells their stories with a level of emotional depth you genuinely don't expect from a Pokémon project. The first episode follows John, a young boy stuck in a hospital who dreams of seeing Champion Leon battle in person. It's a small, quiet story, and the fact that it hits as hard as it does says a lot about what Studio Colorido brought to this. Each episode is basically a standalone short film, around seven minutes each, focused on a different character navigating their own personal thing — ambition, self-doubt, finding purpose. The Pokémon are there, but they're woven into everyday life rather than being the whole point. The animation is gorgeous, with a painterly quality that feels completely different from the main series. If you enjoyed the anthology approach of Pokémon Generations or the more grounded tone of Pokémon Origins, this is in that same lane but with even more heart. It's also a nice entry point if you played Sword and Shield and want to spend more time in Galar without committing to a full series. Short, thoughtful, and surprisingly moving for something you can finish in under an hour.