Pokemon Master Journeys Part 3 Review – When Focus and Storytelling Pay Off

It’s been interesting to watch Pokemon Journeys since the beginning, because as you’ve likely noticed if you’ve ready my reviews so far, they’ve either been really good overall, or have peaks and valleys that make you wonder what’s going on and why they’re going in these directions. With the end of this particular series happening soon, and Pokemon Ultimate Journeys coming to Netflix later this year to tell those final stories, it was up to the current line to really make things end strongly. Thankfully, as my Pokemon Master Journeys Part 3 review will show you, they did that…with a few exceptions.

Let’s start out with the positive, shall we? The thing that Pokemon Master Journeys Part 3 honestly did well is showcase a key “focus” that previous parts didn’t have. Ash was in the Ultra Class in the World Coronation Series and had to try and work his way up it with two key battles. While that usually wouldn’t be enough, they dedicated another episode to Ash and Lucario getting a Mega Stone so that he would be ready for his “final match” with Bea. And in his match with Volkner, we see him use a Z-Move with Pikachu, the first time he’s done that since his Alola days. Both battles were intense and fun in their own right, and the visual of Mega Lucario vs. a Gigantamax Machamp was undoubtedly a treat for all fans. Ash WILL be in the Master Class as you know, so it’s honestly fun to see the battles that led to him getting there.

As for Goh, he had two key episodes focusing on Project Mew, and the episodes honestly were well-handled overall, including him getting clever in catching a Kingdra and getting the scales of a certain shiny Pokemon. I’m curious where this is going to lead for him.

But arguably the true best parts of this set was that there were multiple episodes that embraced the seriousness of the Pokemon world in various ways WITHOUT patronizing its viewers…for the most part. Such as with the episode “Break the Ice”, where a young girl has been bullied so much at other schools that her Glaceon has become infinitely protective of her, to a fault. Hearing her struggles and then trying to do right by her Glaceon was great stuff to witness (even if her parents acted like complete idiots by only blaming Glaceon for what happened).

Then there was “Star Night, Star Fright”, where another young girl was in mourning because she “lost” her Cleffa, and wished for it to always be night so she could see which star it became. The pain of this one was much different, and when it was revealed that it was the Unown who made this wish come true, it gave me some serious Pokemon 3 movie vibes (in the good way), and the ending that this episode got by having the girl say “goodbye” to Cleffa was very moving. THIS is what Pokemon can be at its peak. Dramatic storytelling, telling stories that connect with the viewers versus just trying to go for cheap laughs or just doing battles all the time.

Not that the fun episodes can’t be great; “The Sweet Taste of Battle!” brought back Opal from Galar and it was a really…sweet…episode overall.

That being said, as you guessed, this review does have some key critiques.

Let’s start with the two-part finale. Because right up until the end, it was great. It involved Dialga and Arceus being tricked into doing battle and literally merging worlds and rewinding time in very horrifying ways. Again, mature storytelling, and I loved it, especially with the return of Dawn so soon after her previous appearance in the last part. But two things stuck out. The first of which was the ending where it was literally that the “feelings” of the age-rewound characters of Ash, Goh, Dawn and Chloe (each with their doppelgänger) was enough to subvert the power of the Red Chain, and get Dialga and Palkia to stop fighting. That’s a bit too much.

Second, this is technically Ash’s second time in a “parallel world” that he’s already in (See: Pokemon XYZ), and yet he acted like it was his first, and he couldn’t “comprehend” there being a different Ash. This is yet another example of Ash’s knowledge being limited at times for the sake of plot rather than giving him his FULL arsenal of knowledge, which he actually used early in the season with no issues in terms of trying to catch a key Pokemon! So why imbalance it so much?

And then, there was an episode called “Mad About Blue” about a Pokemon trainer who was obsessed with Blue-colored Pokemon…and that’s it. The whole plot revolved around that and it was so stupid, my brain hurt. Thankfully, that episode was the sole “bad one” of the lot.

There was the opener to this set that was middling, but only because of plot in the general sense. In the end, Pokemon Master Journeys Part 3 was strong in its own way, and it was better than previous parts. Hopefully with the end in sight, things will continue to focus on what’s important here, because that’s when Pokemon really shines.