Pokemon Best Wishes! 26 Pokemon Best Wishes! Episode 26

Ash, Delia and Professor Oak went to new region of Isshu. After they arrive, Team Rocket again stole Pikachu from Ash. In the midst of the battle, Zekrom appears, and its huge lightning bolt zapped Pikachu, freeing him. Professor Araragi shows up and escorts them to her lab, where Ash meets his rival named Shooty.

After a losing battle against him, Ash noticed that Pikachu is unable to use its electricity due to Zekrom's thunderbolt. Zekrom appears once again and he gave Pikachu back his electricity. Now seeing a Legendary Pokemon again, Ash decides to go on a journey and compete in the Isshu Pokemon League. Later on, he met a Jungle girl named Iris and one of the leaders of the Sanyou Gym named Dent. Now...the three of them travel together in a world filled with mysterious creatures known as Pokemon.

Genres: adventure, comedy, tournament
Themes: monsters


If this were simply a story that reached occasional heights of mediocrity, that would be fine. But every now and then it shows flashes of what it could have been, and that's when it gets really disappointing. For example, there could be so many chances for Akira to discover the peculiarities of what it's like being a girl—the Christmas chapter does that with the cake scene. Instead of expanding on the idea, however, the next two chapters involve Akira leering at naked girls, getting naked in female form, and getting caught up in an unrequited love polygon ... boring, brainless stuff that never gets anywhere. Even the comedy potential is wasted: whenever Akira is pretending to be both people at once, rushing back and forth to switch, the feeling of panic and hilarity never materializes. Somehow, he always makes a cheap escape, mumbling some excuse just as Sakuraba is about to figure it out. That's not funny, or exciting, or interesting. That's boring.