The Pokémon anime of today is a very clearly defined thing, such that fans know exactly what to expect when watching the series. While it can, of course, still surprise on plot points from time to time, the anime as it stands today is a lot less wild and free than the original series was, and that may be part of the problem.

That's not to say Pokémon Horizons is bad or anything; quite the opposite, the series' focus is tighter than its ever been, ensuring a clean and easy to follow narrative. But in being so well-defined, a lot of the mystery and wonder that made the original series stand out seems to be missing. There's just something about the first seasons of Pokémon that really captures what the franchise is about, despite all the early installment weirdness going on. In fact, in some ways, it's specifically because of how weird the earliest installments are.

The Pokémon World Was Less Known Then

The Original Series Had Little in the Way of Restrictions

During the development and writing of the original seasons of Pokémon, there were far less rules about what could and couldn't be shown in a Pokémon series. Think of how often Ash tries to settle things with his fists in early seasons, for example. Initially, Ash was easily worked up and could end up in a fight, but that trait of his slowly disappeared as the series went on. Ash and his companions (Misty especially) could also be quite the snark masters, being openly rude to Team Rocket and other evildoing characters, but this too vanished. And, while Ash has a reputation for insane battle tactics, that really all started with his battle with Brock.

The creators of the Pokémon anime seemed to have much more free rein as to what they could write about. Episodes will involve concepts that wouldn't be seen in the games for years, like Giant Pokémon such as the Giant Dragonite in the episode "Mystery at the Lighthouse", the pink Butterfree, or the sneak peek at Pokémon like Ho-Oh in the first episode. The frequent appearance of real-world animals is also a rather unusual element of early seasons, with fish being particularly common to see. While one would never see real animals in the modern anime, the original simply didn't have as defined a world.

This lack of a defined world gave the series some fuzzy borders about what was okay and what wasn't, which ultimately led to the series developing the unique tone that these early episodes have. It felt like the audience was learning about this world alongside Ash, experiencing it for the first time. That's something that both later iterations of Ash (the Ruby and Sapphire era and later) as well as Horizons would struggle to do--the Pokémon world became more concrete, and there was less room to explore.

The Orange Islands Exemplify The Original's Creative Freedom

The Anime-exclusive Region Allowed Great Freedom

No part of the original series can showcase the creative freedom the anime's early writers were given better than the Orange Islands. Constructed as "filler" to occupy time until Pokémon Gold and Silver were released, the Orange Islands allowed the writers to do things differently than they had been. They were allowed to create this new region, occupied by unique Pokémon (like the Valencia Island Butterfree), where things happened differently than they did in Kanto.

Gym battles in the Orange Islands, for example, included a non-battle element, often a race or challenge of some sort, which helped to add some dynamic elements to the episodes where Ash challenges these leaders. Many of these elements which the Orange Islands pioneered would eventually go on to be used in the games, such as with the Orange League's challenges being similar to the Alola trials, or the unique Pokémon being rebranded as "regional variants" seen in Alola, Galar, and other areas. While this would take decades to implement, the anime effectively paved the way for these features.

However, the idea of creating an entirely new region for the anime like the Orange Islands seems like an absurd one today. With the Pokémon world already so big, there's not necessarily a reason to invent something new when you can always return to a familiar place. The anime tries to stick closely to the games these days, so only areas which are canonical to the games are ever seen. While Pokémon Horizons has teased its Pokémon paradise of Laqua, it's not really the same thing as an entire region with its own culture around Pokémon and unique Pokémon variants.

Pokémon Horizons Should Be Given Its Freedom, Too

Horizons Would Benefit from the Same Freedom as the Original Series

Pokémon Horizons has done a good job establishing its story, and hasn't been afraid to pull out some of the tricks of the original series, such as arbitrarily Giant Pokémon. Lucius and the Six Heroes are a great way to develop unique lore for the anime, but there's so much more that could be done. The series would definitely benefit from more creative freedom, and less concern about sticking to the hard canon of the Pokémon world.

Playing fast and loose with canon may seem like a wild request, but it's clear that Pokémon canon has become a bit restrictive at times when it comes to storytelling. If the series is to measure up to its past, then the chains of that canon may need to be broken. Let Roy use wild strategies like Ash's infamous water sprinkler on Brock's Onix. Let Liko devise a crazy plan like Ash's scheme to sneak into the Celadon Gym. The anime is not a game, and it shouldn't necessarily be bound by video game logic.

By giving the anime the creative freedom it deserves, fans will get a more exciting experience, one that carries with it the spirit of adventure that the original series did so well. It will make Pokémon less predictable to its longtime fans, and restore the sense of wonder that has always been at the core of the series.