Top 3 most disappointing seasons from the Pokemon anime

Given the time it has been on the air, the Pokemon anime is bound to have some seasons that do not perform as well as others. Whether it be because of a change in art style, a change in the network, or having lackluster characters, the show is no stranger to having its fair share of controversy among the loyal fanbase.

Having various seasons come out alongside each new generation of the main series, many players will have a favorite. Whether it be due to liking certain characters or the viewer enjoying the games to coincide with it, many people have a favorite season of the anime.

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Top 3 most disappointing seasons of the Pokemon anime

Pokemon the Series: Sun & Moon

Ash, Pikachu, and Rowlet from the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

While far from being a bad season, Sun & Moon made some risky steps for the franchise. Seasons prior have aired for English audiences on Cartoon Network for many years until the series made a switch to airing on Disney: XD following the release of this season.

While not a dealbreaker for some viewers, many younger fans did not have access to this channel. This also marked a huge change in the anime's art style, putting off many viewers. While this season took some risks, many fans look fondly at it due to its change to the anime's formula and lovable characters.

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Pokemon: Advanced

Official artwork for the Advanced season (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Advanced was the first season of the anime to replace one of its main characters permanently. In this anime season, Misty was replaced with May and her little brother Max. This season also started a trend among most future seasons where the female player character would be one of the main characters.

Though the season is seen as remarkably average among fans, the movies from this generation of the anime are some of the most memorable. Heroes and Lucario and the Mystery of Mew are viewed in high regard as some of the best movies in the franchise to this day.

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Pokemon the Series: Black & White

A screenshot of Pokemon The Series: Black & White (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Black and White is often seen among fans as the most disappointing season in the franchise. Due to the behind-the-scenes production issues and this season completely doing away with reoccurring characters like Brock, this season left a lot to be desired.

Brock left the group to pursue a career as a doctor, so there was no sign of any staple characters returning in this season. Team Rocket was also portrayed a lot more seriously for this season. A lot was promised for this season; unfortunately, some unforeseen issues changed the season's production.

March 11, 2011, was the day the infamous Japan tsunami and earthquake struck the nation. The earthquake was the most powerful one recorded in Japan's history and would cause millions of dollars in damages. Of course, this affected the production team behind Black and White.

The planned two-part special involving a showdown with Team Rocket and Team Plasma was skipped after the earthquake. This was planned to be a very important episode for the season's story but was skipped after the episode's plot involving weather disasters was deemed "sensitive material."

After the episode was scrapped, the dub of the ending of the previous episode, "A Venipede Stampede, was altered. Originally it would allude to the two-part special following that episode, but this had to be changed. The next episode following was Ash's gym battle with Burgh.

After the massive delay in development, the story's pace was set to a grinding halt resulting in a stagnant block of nearly 30 filler episodes. Though the entirety of Team Rocket would still have a few good episodes here and there, the serious and threatening villains the viewers were promised never seemed to show themselves.