How to Regard the Orange Islands

Pokémon has many curiosities, especially now that it's over a quarter century old. Some are trivial, others are captivating, and still others are significant. Of those in the last category, the Orange Islands may well be considered one of them, and it presents something else related its curious nature. That would be the matter of considering or regarding it as it fits into the whole of Pokémon. While this matter might seem rather obvious, some ideas seemingly also can play into this, and therefore it has to be given some thought, particularly as I haven't dealt with it on this blog all these years.

First and foremost is how it's commonly and obviously regarded, as a part of the anime. However, there is an additional idea that plays into this: the stretch of episodes that involve the location, as well as the associated feature film or movie, could be considered as a "grand filler arc". Other anime series use filler episodes - which in numbers and consecutively become an "arc" - in order to generate content while the source itself generates material to be adapted; this famously happens all too often for a series involving pirates - fans of Japanese pop culture should already know which one. This makes sense for the Orange Islands, as it happened between the first generation and second generation games and the anime was effectively waiting for material from the latter. These fillers also often have little to no recognition, and in the case of the Orange Islands, they've been known to be skipped in at least one run of the anime; while some character development did occur there, quite a bit also seems to be ignored, including an all-important "sparkle". Given these "fragments", the "grand filler arc" reasoning fits in with how Pokémon was like back then - and now as well.

Whether or not this part of the anime is considered "filler", it also seems appropriate to consider it a partial inspiration for a part of the games, which would be the additional island areas in the remakes of the first-generation games. The Pokémon in the islands are of the same purpose as well - being (at least some of) the "additional" ones that aren't present in Kanto proper or the primary third-generation games - and this is also reflective of the status of the Orange Islands themselves in the anime, which wasn't based on a specific main series game locale. At this point, it's wise to consider that the locale itself won't make it properly to an (official main series) game, so these additional islands would also be considered having "accommodated" the locale in the framework of those games.

However one cuts it, the Orange Islands remain a major and curious "outlier" of Pokémon with their unique presence in the anime, which is otherwise almost totally based on the (main series) games. The locale obviously still has its place in the anime, but beyond that, it does present a bit of an enigma to fit in the games that are its inspiration. Obviously, it's also a curious fodder for thought, for Pokémon then and now.

One year ago: The Lingering Places of Toxic Pokémon Fans

Two years ago: Taking It All Home

Three years ago: Sponsored PokéStops and Gyms in Pokémon Go

Four years ago: The Persistence of Legendary Raid Hours

Five years ago: Poké Ball Mini Pokémon Figures

Six years ago: Metal Unova Cap Pikachu Keychain