The Pokémon franchise is no stranger to spin-off anime series, with Generations and the most recent Twilight Wings being among a handful of side stories set in the world of Pokémon. However, one spin-off that stands out among the rest is the one that follows Red's adventures through Kanto, Pokémon Origins.
Like any origin story, Origins goes back to a time when the world somehow only knew about the Pokémon native to their region and world-renowned Pokémon professors didn't seem to communicate with one another but also retcons certain aspects of either the anime or games to make itself stand out among the crowd. Here are 10 things fans may not know about the miniseries.
10 Based On The Generation One Games
Although the main Pokémon anime is loosely based on the games, with Ash Ketchum being the substitute for the player character, Pokémon Origins goes one step further and follows the story of Red & Blue almost exactly. In this mini-series, Red is in the same role he plays in the games as the main character, with Blue being both Professor Oak's grandson and Red's rival. Rince the starter choice is up to the player rather than the character, both Red and Blue pick the same starter they chose as their respective manga counterparts, with Red taking Charmander and Blue taking Squirtle.
9 Different Voice Actors
Although Origins is a Pokémon anime, several key voice actor differences between the same characters separate it from the main anime. For one, Brock is played by the instantly recognizable voice of Johnny Yong Bosch, while Professor Oak is played by Kyle Hebert, best known for Kiba in Naruto and adult Gohan in Dragon Ball Z. Giovanni, another recurring character from both the main anime and Origins, is played by Jamieson Price, most well known for playing Sado "Chad" Yasutora in Bleach.
8 The Ghost Marowak
In Red & Blue, the mother Marowak ghost was only calmed from her rampage once the player defeated her in battle, as she could not be caught. Once she calmed down, the player could reach the top level of Pokémon Tower, though this isn't how things went in Pokémon Origins.
Instead of battling the mother Marowak, she is instead calmed when she sees her child Cubone again and is able to pass on when she knows they are OK. This was later reused in Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee, as the player follows the Cubone from Silph Co. rather than having to battle the Marowak.
7 Red's Jolteon
The majority of Red's on-screen captures line up with where the Pokémon can be found in Red & Blue, though there are some exceptions with Route 1 having wild Caterpie and Spearow. One of the biggest changes in wild Pokémon encounters came with Red's Jolteon, which appeared when he first entered Pokémon Tower after having just come from Rock Tunnel. In the games, the player could only obtain an Eevee if they went to Celadon City, which means that Red somehow found a wild Eevee between his battle with Lt. Surge and arriving in Lavender Town.
6 Blue Tries To Catch Mewtwo First
In the origins' final episodes, Red manages to capture all 150 Pokémon and complete Professor Oak's Pokédex, though this isn't the end of his journey. After catching the final Pokémon, he heads back to Pallet Town and runs into Blue, who has been attacked by a mysterious Pokémon in Cerulean Cave and was nearly killed in the process. Blue explains that he heard rumors about the Pokémon, Mewtwo, appearing in the cave and went to capture it for himself. In the games, it appears that either Red or Blue caught it, though Blue is never stated to have entered the cave while Red has.
5 Team Rocket Disbanding
The main story of Red & Blue is in defeating Team Rocket and causing them to disband for three years after defeating Giovanni as the final gym leader. While they still disband in Origins, Giovanni's reason for giving up his life of crime is significantly different. In Red & Blue, he states that he will reform Team Rocket in the future, but in Origins, he realizes that at some point in his journey, he forgot the reason why he became a trainer and vows to change his ways, with this version of Giovanni being significantly different to any of his other counterparts.
4 The Gym Trainers Don't Battle
For the majority of the main Pokémon anime, Ash doesn't have to defeat any gym trainers before facing the gym leader, though there are a few exceptions. While Red does encounter a couple at the entrance of the Pewter City gym, he doesn't need to battle them and they are there to question potential challengers rather than test them.
Although Origins is based on the video games, this is the only time he is seen interacting with gym trainers, which are a staple aspect of gyms in nearly every mainline game so far, and they considered him to be too weak to challenge Brock right off the bat.
3 Red Loses Several Key Battles
In the games that follow up Red & Blue, it is said by many people that Red is somewhat unbeatable and is one of, if not the best, trainer in the world. While this has some ramifications for Leon in Galar, it also differs from his portrayal in Origins. Unlike in the games, Red loses several key battles in his journey, including the initial battle against Blue, where he loses soundly, and again against Giovanni in Silph Co., where he should have defeated him instead if the anime was to follow the games.
2 References To Future Generations
Although Origins takes place in a world where there isn't any known Pokémon outside of Kanto, there are several references to other Pokémon regions in the series. In the Pokémon League, there is a photo of a Slowking, a generation two Pokémon, and Red's Haunter is shown using the move Shadow Punch against Sabrina's Kadabra, a move that wasn't introduced until generation three. This could also be due to the fact that, at the time of Origins' release, FireRed & LeafGreen had been made which allows for both of these references to be canon.
1 Red Actually Talks
Red's most signature personality trait is that he never talks, unlike virtually every other NPC in the series. Although canonically he is shown talking to the Copycat girl in Saffron City, he isn't given a dialogue box and the conversation seems entirely one-sided. In Origins, Red's personality is similar to Ash's, as he isn't afraid to speak his mind and is very rarely quiet, let alone silent, thought-out the series' four episodes.