Pokémon Concierge – Season 1 Episode 1 Recap & Review

 I’m Haru, the New Concierge!

Episode 1 of Pokémon Concierge begins with Haru sharing her grievances with life. Then, she arrives at the Pokémon Resort and Ms. Watanabe, a resort worker, greets her. Ms. Watanabe details what Haru can expect while working at the Pokémon Resort as a concierge. Suddenly, a Rattata and Furret cause issues. Ms. Watanabe stops and scolds Furret for their wrongdoings. Simultaneously, she tells Haru that it’s important they maintain the residents’ safety. 

Ms. Watanabe gives Haru the simple task of acting as a guest. Haru explores the resort and bumps into Tyler, a fitness and sanitation resort worker. Haru engages in a yoga activity with Tyler and his accompanying Pokémon for a bit. Afterward, Tyler tells her she can stop by anytime for future lessons or activities. He points out scooters she can use for resort traversal purposes. Haru grabs a scooter and departs. She sees a Dragonite, Hoppip, and Bellsprout soaring above her and takes her phone out to snap a photo of them. 

These Pokémon head toward another resort worker named Alisa. Alisa and Haru introduce themselves to each other and we learn Alisa’s a part-time summer worker at the resort. After interacting with Alisa’s Mudkip and sharing how perplexed she is with her “guest task,” Alisa asks Haru to follow her. Alisa gets Haru some fitting attire and explains how the Pokémon often stop by for pampering purposes. Tyler informs the girls he’s whipped up a tasty dish and the girls leave to try his food. 

We cut to Haru eating the meal on the shore and gazing at the beautiful blue sky. She takes a swift nap and wakes up to see Psydusk looming over her. This startles Haru for a bit. Later, Haru visits a massage area at the resort and reunites with Tyler’s service Pokémon and Ms. Watanabe. Ms. Watanabe confirms she’s a skilled worker, capable of putting any Pokémon to sleep with a touch of her hand. She gives Haru a massage and Haru shares her experiences on the island (so far) with her. 

Ms. Watanabe’s happy to hear it all and says Haru will inevitably find a partner Pokémon of her own soon. In her resort quarters, Haru’s mildly upset that she fell asleep in front of her supervisor. This encourages her to work harder. The next day, Haru meets with Ms. Watanabe at a gazebo. She shows Ms. Watanabe a data project she worked on. While impressed by her effort, Ms. Watanabe asks Haru to tell her how about her time at the resort yesterday. 

Haru observes Pansage, Panpour, and Pansear performing funny actions, enticing her to laugh. Then, Haru compares this trio’s silly actions to how amusing her problems are in retrospect. Haru claims her time on the resort has allowed her to remove those bad feelings about the life she had before. Ms. Watanabe tells Haru that having fun is the right mindset to have when working here. She presents Haru with a cloth and says she’s required to wear it while working here.

Additionally, Ms. Watanabe says she must select a Pokémon before the sun sets. Haru visits a beach and monitors a Mudkip and Wooper playing together. Haru’s confused about how to go about this new task. Suddenly, Psyduck rears its head from the bushes and departs. The episode closes with Haru recognizing it. 

The Episode Review

While some fans have grown accustomed to the original Pokémon anime involving Ash and his friends, The Pokémon Company has experimented with many series in the past that don’t involve him. Enter Pokémon Concierge, one of their latest offerings that follows suit with that idea. However, this one appears to be in collaboration with Netflix and Dwarf Studios.  

Anyhoo, the first episode offers Pokémon, anime, and casual viewers a comforting experience. From its calm scenery to its variety of Pokémon and human characters, this series aims to give audiences a compelling, feel-good slice-of-life series worth watching. Although the series doesn’t seem to offer much depth, the characters seem interesting (so far). 

From Haru’s work-focused nature to Ms. Watanabe’s comforting mentorship, this cast has the potential to grow out of their one-dimensional shells. Furthermore, the world feels lively. It was a genius move to include Pokémon from different regions. While many grew up with the original 151, others may have cherished Pokémon from regions like Sinnoh, Unova, etc. Overall, this was a decent start to Pokémon Concierge, but I’m interested to see what lies ahead for Haru and her co-workers.