Summary
A new series of shorts fromPokemonhas started to air onYouTubethis week. The shorts will be released once a week on Wednesdays for eight weeks, and are totally free to enjoy. These are similar to shorts that were released back in 2020, which are also still available to view via thePokémonYouTube channel.
The news was posted on the official JapanesePokémonX (formerlyTwitter) page when the first of the animated shorts was released earlier this week. A small update was also made to the JapanesePokémonwebsite explaining the idea behind the new animation shorts. They are calledPoketoons, using the English word “cartoon” combined with, of course, “Pokémon.”
The First of EightPoketoonsis Available Now
Seven More Shorts Are Coming
The firstPoketoonis already available to watch on theJapanesePokémonYouTubechannel now. It is only 51 seconds long, so don’t go in expecting a full-length episode. AsPoketoonsare free for anyone to watch, they are justsimple, cute stories meant to make fans smilerather than provide any important lore or story. The first one is also optimized for watching on a cell phone rather than a computer or a TV, so it is meant to be enjoyed as a quick pick-me-up wherever you are.
The firstPoketoonis titled パモパモットパーモット！」(“Pawmi-Pawmo-Pawmot!"). As the name suggests, it stars threePokémon,Pawmi and its evolutions, Pawmo and Pawmot, who are teasing a young girl at the park by dancing. The girl wants to hold them because they are so cute, and asks her father to get them for her. He does his best, but in the end, \he gets electrocuted when the girl pokes one of them that he is holding for her. It is definitely not a deep story, but it is a very cute animation.
The officialPokemonwebsitedescribes the series as (translated),
[Poketoons are] a web anime series featuring various Pokémon.
The videos range from short vertical videos to horizontal-shaped ones that everyone can enjoy.
There will be a lineup of various stories!
Please look for your favorite videos.
It hints that all the videos may not be as short as the first one, though the concept behind the videos being just for fun means that you shouldn’t expect anything dramatic. The horizontal videos may have more content, or at least more length, but more than likely they will remain justsomething cute and fun to enjoy casually.
Previous Pokemon Animated Shorts
This Isn’t the First Time Pokemon Has Done This
As stated above, this is not the first time that a series of shorts has been released for free viewing byPokémon. The last set began airing in 2020, and they were also known asPoketoons, and they aired on thePokémonKids YouTube channel. The first episode was “Scraggy and Mimikyu,” which aired in June 2020, followed by “Hero ni Naritai Yanchamu” (Pancham Who Wants to Be a Hero) and “Yume no Tsubomi” (Dreaming Tsubomi) the following year in May and June, after a big gap of time.
After that, “Mattete ne Koiking” (Just Wait, Magikarp) was released in July 2021, the “Poka-Poka MaguMaggu House” (Cozy Slugma House) in August 2021, the “Gengar ni Nacchatta!?” (I Became a Gengar?!) in September 2021, the “Fubuki no Natsu Yasumi” (Summer Vacation Blizzard) in October 2021, and finally the “Purin no Uta” (Jigglypuff’s Song) aired in December 2021. All the videos that had dialogue were released with English subtitles, as the original dialogue was done in Japanese.
These shorts are still available to watch on the internationalPokemonYouTubenow, and can be found by searching for the episode names listed above. The previous shorts were released only once a month, whereas the new series will be released once every week over the next eight weeks. It may mean that the episodes end up being shorter, but you won’t have to wait as long to watch them. you may check out the newPoketoonsshort every Wednesday.
Sources:AnimeNewsNetwork,Official Website
Pokemon
Pokemon is a franchise that needs no introduction. One of the most successful media empires in history, Pokemon spans games, television, films, manga, merchandise, music, and more.
