The latest news for the new Pokémon anime has come out. In a recent Tweet put out by the Pokémon anime’s official Twitter, character designs for three new Trainers have been released. As for the role they’ll be playing in the anime, that’s up for speculation.
These new characters may be the new antagonists of the series. Now that all of the protagonists have been established, it would make sense to let the audience know who they will be fighting. The only way to tell anything about these three is by looking at what’s known about them.
What’s Been Established About Explorers So Far?
The new group all work for a group called “Explorers.” They’re probably a group of adventurers similar to the Rising Volteccers established earlier for the series. Given their darker, more uniform color palette, they could either be rival adventurers or simply adventurers who want to accomplish the same goals as the Rising Volteccers, though for less admirable purposes.
The leader of the group seems to be a young man named Amethyo (Japanese: アメジオ Amejio). His main Pokémon is Ceruledge, a Fire and Ghost-type characterized by grudges, resentment, and a lack of mercy; its signature move is even called Bitter Blade. As for Amethyo himself, he comes off as more of the cold and calculating type. Assuming everything he’s presented as is played straight, he would make for an excellent primary antagonist.
His fellow Explorers members also seem like they could be antagonistic. Zir (Japanese: ジル Jiru) is a tall, muscular man with a malicious smile. His main Pokémon, Rhydon, is also commonly shown in opposition to protagonists due to its menacing appearance and large size; it serves as a threatening-looking opponent to main characters with smaller, unevolved Pokémon, like Ash’s Pikachu or Liko’s Sprigatito. His human partner Conia (Japanese: コニア Konia) seems similarly out for trouble. Her expression and body language seem to signify an air of haughtiness brought about by her professionalism. Her partner Pokémon Golduck isn’t particularly antagonistic, but it easily could be. These two might be meant to represent the James and Jessie of the new series, with Amethyo being either a commanding officer or, more interestingly, a more involved Giovanni.
Of course, it’s still difficult to say for certain that these three are truly the successors to Team Rocket in terms of antagonism. All that’s been shown of them is Amethyo sending out Ceruledge at night. However, it does seem to go with some other revealed footage of Liko sending out her Sprigatito at night, as well as some footage of Friede flying in on his Charizard with the moon behind them. These three scenes may be interconnected shots of Liko challenging Amethyo when she caught him doing wrong, then being saved by Friede when he turned out to be too much.
For now, fans will have to wait and see just who “Explorers” are and what their goal is. That said, if it turns out to be something unsavory, it wouldn’t be surprising. Either way, all should become clear by the time the anime premieres on April 14.
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