News came out on July 26th that streaming service Netflix is planning a live-action Pokémon television series. The only real piece of information that seems to be out there is that Lucifer's Joe Henderson is involved. There are no details yet though as to how they will do it, or what fans will see. Despite this, social media is already full of speculation. Many fans are excited, others are very worried what this will look like.

While a Pokémon live-action movie, Detective Pikachu, was released in 2019, a live television show isn't something they've ever attempted before. And being for Netflix, this will be something pretty large scale. It should be common sense to know that this is a massive risk, and there are a lot of things that could go wrong and turn this into a disaster. There are a few things they could do though, that could make this show a big success and add something different to a fairly traditional franchise.

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Overall to make this series effective, they'll need to play into people's attachment to the franchise and do a good job of bringing these characters to life. Kids need to feel immersed and invested in the world, and so do adults. Pokémon has been around a long time, so its OG fans are grown-ups now. Many of them will stay tuned for a live-action series if it's done well. There will be a few key elements involved in getting to that level.

Pokémon Charmander In A Field

The first thing that will be very important, is the characters. No matter how tempting it may be, it might be best for them not to include Ash in this show. Yes, he's the central character of the series. However, that means that fans will be hard on his design and the actor chosen to play him. If they do it perfectly, it could end up being mega-successful. It's hard to believe though that everyone will be pleased at the choice and that can cause a lot of issues. Bringing in more characters that people haven't heard of before is also going to be essential.

On top of the human characters, the way that the actual Pokémon look is going to be probably the most important element here. The way they were designed in Detective Pikachu went over very well, but there's no confirmation that that's the direction they will be going. If the Pokémon look ugly or strange, this show has absolutely no chance of being a success. It's also important that they show a variety of Pokémon, outside of just two or three.

This could be achieved by making sure that the central characters are traveling across all regions, which should also look immersive and exciting. The regions throughout Pokémon are very distinct, and so are the characters and Pokémon from each place. Nailing the setting is going to be really important, and if things look cheap or lazy fans won't be into it. Not only will newer viewers not be intrigued, but older fans won't enjoy it either as it won't be impressive.

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Something that is a main element of most Pokémon games and shows, is battles. The battles in the Pokémon anime are generally really well done, but their live-action film Detective Pikachu didn't really feature any traditional battles at all. That's a huge opportunity to either do something very impressive, or completely mess it up forever. If they are able to do it properly and make it look really cool, it could be a huge drawing point for a lot of people and add to the entertainment value of the series.

Lastly, it's going to be really important to get the overall story of the show to a place that is intriguing so it's easy to be invested. They also need to make sure individual episodes have plot points and stories that pull people in. Looking at the Pokémon anime series Pokémon Journeys for some hints would be a good start. That series has absolutely nailed plots and stories that are very family-friendly and fun for kids, but also deep enough to keep adult fans invested. With a live-action series, there's still a lot of visual elements that can wow people, but it's harder to hide behind things like amazing animation. There's also a bigger opportunity with real actors to convey some amazing performances and emotion, so the dialogue and stories should take advantage of that.

As more is known about this new series, it'll be easier to gauge what to expect and what the general consensus will be. One would hope that with so much money able to back the project, and with such a loyal fanbase and an iconic franchise, a lot of care will be put into this. They will have to take some risks to be impressive, but overall just nailing the technical elements and honoring the rules of the franchise will take them a long way.

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