I've actually been keeping up with the Pokemon Anime, something I haven't been able to do in a long time since I usually get bored after 6 ~ 12 ish episodes, and I must say, I'm enjoying it a lot more than usual!
I doubt it's because of Ash no longer being the protagonist, while that does plenty for novelty, it's ALSO just that, novelty, it wears off and after that it no longer really takes into account for my enjoyment of something.
So the fact that I rather enjoy Liko, Roy and Dot as protagonists beyond just a change of the old guard, says at least something I'd wager.
It also has a lot more of an overarching story than previous series - Instead of striving to become the "Pokemon Master", which is a mostly nebulous goal supposedly solved by beating the region's champion, along with whatever adventures Ash accidentally stumbles across; There is solve the mystery of the pendant, which leads to these titanic Pokemon and an ancient legendary trainer, along with 3 kids having sort of coming of age stories via their Pokemon in different ways.
Maybe I just haven't watched Pokemon in a while, but it feels like there is a lot more "meat" for me to get invested in.
Also the Rising Volteccers (or Rising Volt Tackles? God that isn't going to sound as well in the dub) are fun as side characters and there's a punk gal who is pink and has a Chansey and pink punk gals are amazing always without fail every single time.
