It’s hard to believe, but thePokémonanimated series is still going after all these years. With the current season, its twenty-third, the show’s become known asPokémon Journeysinternationally, with Netflix picking up the American broadcast rights. The newest episode, which will first air on October 9thon TV Tokyo in Japan, is picking up some hype ahead of its American translation by teasing a debut forthe fan-favorite generation 1 legendary Mewtwo.
At time of writing, the hype in question is being generated by a single frame of the Japanese trailer for the new episode, “VS Thunder! A Legendary Raid Battle!!” The episode, according to a couple of fan-translated preview blurbs,revolves around Ash “Satoshi” Ketchum, still 10 after all these years, and his Poké-buddy Goh heading into a legendary raid battle against Zapdos, with the promise of additional shenanigans along the way.
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Unpacking the episode order of thePokémonanime from outside its fan community is a surprisingly tall order, owing to several translation differences between the Japanese and American translations. It’s easy to think that the franchise has been through several shows at this point, but instead, the series occasionally shifts its focus as new regions of the Pokémon world are introduced in each successive game. Remember, “gotta catch ‘em all” actually refers to the audience.
Journeys,the seventh series within the show, follows Ash and his new companion Goh on a trip around the world, including a visit to Galar, the region that was introduced in last year’sPokémon Sword and Shieldon the Switch. Ash and Goh, as ever, are on the hunt to find and capture every Pokémon in the world, which would probably be easier if Nintendo didn’tintroduce several dozen moreevery couple of years.
In the current season, Ash is voiced by Sarah Natochenny, who has played the role since 2005. Goh’s American voice is provided by Zeno Robinson (Craig of the Creek, Young Justice). Ash and Goh’s employer in Vermilion City, Professor Cerise, is voiced by Ray Chase (every anime dub that you’ve ever even heard of); his daughter Chloe, a major supporting character in the series, is played by Cherami Leigh(Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Violet Evergarden).Other actors onPokémon Journeysinclude James Carter Cathcart, Michelle Ruff, Emily Bauer, Megan Hollingshead, Rodger Parsons, and Melissa Schoenberg.
The first twenty-four episodes ofPokémon Journeysare available for streaming right now on Netflix. As with every season of thePokémonseries, it will receive a feature-length movie as part of its run; in this case, its movie has been delayed until December 25thdue to COVID-19. The movie,Koko, has yet to receive an English title.
