A new adventure arrives on Netflix and Teletoon.
After wrapping its run on Disney XD today, Netflix made the blockbuster announcement that it was the exclusive home to the next Pokemon animated series, Pokemon Journeys, at least in the United States.
In Canada, Teletoon has won both the English and French language broadcast rights, and will start its run on May 9th. The French version will follow later in the year.
Americans will have to wait a little longer, though they’ll soon catch up, as Netflix is taking something of a different approach: It plans to release the series 12 episodes at a time every three month to its American audience. Netflix has been shoring up its anime content with announcements they’ll be streaming series such as One Piece, Dragon Ball Z, and Avatar: The Last Airbender in recent days.
The series, which has already started airing in Japan, features Ash Ketchum and Pikachu preparing to face the greatest Pokemon trainer in the world. They’re joined by a new friend named Goh who wants to catch as many Pokemon as he can as well as catch a Pokemon no one else ever has.
Goh is a somewhat cautious trainer based on our viewings of the Japanese episodes that have aired to date. However, he catches Pokemon obsessively, with a collection likely to rival Ash’s. Speaking of the longtime protagonist, his team is something of a crowd pleaser as the series progresses, and we’re sure you’ll love it too.
Gigantamax Snorlax, Mew, and Lugia make their appearances early enough. So, too, do longtime antagonists Team Rocket.
Finally, Canadian band Walk Off The Earth has been tapped to make the theme song for the new series, and based on the video above, they’re sure to bring the catchy, uplifting tunes they’ve long been known for on Canadian radio. Hold On (The Break) is emblematic of the band’s signature style and we’re sure the Pokemon theme will be in a similar vein.
–With files from Evan McIntosh