A new land, new rivals, new challenges, and all-new Pokémon make the 14th season of the Pokémon animated series one of the most exciting ones yet! When Ash and his mother accompany Professor Oak to the distant Unova region, Ash discovers Pokémon that he's never seen before… and that he can't wait to catch! He may have Pikachu at his side together with new friends Iris and Cilan, but he'll still need plenty of new Pokémon on his team if he wants to challenge Unova's expert Gym Leaders. His quest to become a Pokémon Master just got even tougher![1]
Ash excitedly arrives in the Unova region along with Pikachu, his mom, and Professor Oak. Meanwhile, Team Rocket's Boss, Giovanni, has given them an important assignment in the Unova region. As Jessie, James, and Meowth prepare for their new assignment, Professor Oak introduces Ash to Professor Juniper, one of the top researchers in Unova.
On their way to the Castelia City Gym for Ash’s next Gym battle, our heroes encounter Gym Leader Burgh, who says he can’t answer Ash’s challenge until he figures out what’s been bothering his Bug-type Pokémon. Ash and friends pitch in to help him investigate. Together, they discover a Venipede in distress, and of course Ash wants to help it!
Upon further investigation, the gang learns that the whole city is being overrun by a gigantic colony of angry Venipede! The townspeople are in a panic, and the mayor of Castelia City declares that something must be done at once. Ash’s rival Trip is also in town, and he suggests that battling the raging Venipede is the only way to stop them. Burgh counters with a plan to round them up and herd them into the city’s Central Plaza until Professor Juniper can figure out what’s going on.
Working together, the three Trainers find every last Venipede and bring them all to the plaza. Soon, Professor Juniper discovers an unusual energy emanating from the Desert Resort, just outside Castelia City! She concludes that the underground energy flow must be what disturbed the Venipede. The professor and Officer Jenny take off to find out exactly what’s happening in the desert, while Burgh stays behind to look after the Venipede—and Ash’s thoughts turn to his next Gym battle!
The time for Ash’s Gym battle with Burgh, the Castelia City Gym Leader and Bug-type Pokémon expert, has finally arrived! Burgh’s first Pokémon is Dwebble, and Ash sends out his Tepig. From the outset, Burgh’s Dwebble shows impressive speed thanks to an extra-light rock on its back, and its powerful Rock Wrecker attack quickly knocks Tepig out!
Next, Ash brings out his Sewaddle. Burgh is pleased to see his old friend from Pinwheel Forest—until Sewaddle makes quick work of Dwebble by knocking the rock off of its back with a well-placed Razor Leaf, evening the score!
When Burgh brings out his tough Whirlipede, Ash decides to stick with Sewaddle—who evolves into Swadloon in the midst of the battle! Swadloon’s powerful Energy Ball defeats Whirlipede, leaving Burgh with only his beloved Leavanny. The Nurturing Pokémon quickly overpowers Swadloon, leaving Leavanny to battle against Ash’s Pikachu!
Pikachu soon finds itself trapped by Leavanny’s String Shot. With its tail all wrapped up, Pikachu is way off balance and having trouble aiming! After several attempts to shake off the sticky string fail, Ash sends Pikachu diving straight into Leavanny’s Leaf Storm. It’s a risky move, but the sharp leaves cut right through the strings, and Pikachu is free! Back up to speed, Pikachu defeats Leavanny with a powerful Electro Ball, and Ash excitedly claims the Insect Badge!
Meanwhile, the Team Rocket trio have been getting the silent treatment from their Boss, Giovanni. His secretary advises them to act on their own and do their best for Team Rocket. Jessie, James, and Meowth decide to go back to doing what they do best—annoying Ash while trying to steal Pikachu! And when James befriends a hungry Yamask that wanders into their cave, Jessie proclaims this an excellent omen for their future...
The animation style in the series somewhat differed from the previous series with different eye designs brighter colors and new attack details.
Because the games were a soft reboot of the series, the show itself did the same thing:
Ash was much like a rookie this series as he forgot several parts of catching Pokémon. He also travels with two brand new companions in this region.
The Team Rocket trio received a promotion and had new uniforms and unlike the previous serious were more serious, in addition, they don't appear in every episode of the series unless they are directly involved with a major plot line and due to their new assignments, catching Pikachu was no longer their top priority.
All the Pokémon shown in this season were all brand new and there were no previous Pokemon in this region, minus Ash's Pikachu and Meowth.
Ash traveled with two new companions which has not happened since Season one
